


Coding Error

by Opossumtivity



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert, Who the hell writes an off fanfic nowadays?, apparently i do, gender neutral reader, you can pick who to romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 25,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23470981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opossumtivity/pseuds/Opossumtivity
Summary: Instead of the player going to the game, the game comes to the player.You start a new adventure in a new world with different mechanics. Batter/Reader, Sugar/Reader, Zacharie/Reader, where you pick who to romance.
Relationships: The Batter/Reader, The Batter/The Player, The Player/Sucre | Sugar, The Player/Zacharie, Zacharie/Reader
Comments: 118
Kudos: 244





	1. Intruder

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty late into this fandom, i wouldn't describe as dead, mostly as if it were on life support since it comes to life ever so often. Anyway, I wanted to give a shot at writing something i would've liked to read, a new adventure of sorts.

A/N: Ah yes, this game is an old one but a classic nevertheless. Chapters are a bit shorter than what I am used to, but it will help keep them constant and hopefully, faster.  
______

It was a normal day.

You woke up, scrolled through your phone, took a shower, had breakfast scrolled through your phone again, work on your computer, had lunch, scrolled through your phone some more, and cooked dinner. You also stayed up late playing video games on your pc, but that's nothing out of the ordinary.

Just a regular Saturday for you.

Well, there was this one thing. You were brushing your teeth before bed until you thought you heard something coming from your bedroom, a static sound something similar to a loose wire, you peeked in the room only to find nothing out of the ordinary. You shrugged, believing it to be a figment of your imagination.

Once your nightly hygiene ritual was done, you dove into the warm covers of your bed, tossing the blanket over your head in hopes of falling asleep quicker.

When you opened your eyes that morning you found yourself still under the blankets. So far so good, but the second you stretched a hand towards your night table to grab your phone, you paused. Feeling something was off.

You felt someone else in the room with you.

You're too scared to leave from the covers of your bed, so you keep pretending to be asleep. Yet you can help but internally panicing since you can distinguish a humanoid shadow from your thin sheets. A robber maybe? the odd figure loomed for a moment before making it's way into your closet.

If there was a good moment to act it would be now.

You carefully slid off your bed without making a noise, heading to grab the nearest object which was a baseball bat under your bed. You slowly tiptoed your way towards the stranger rumbling through your closet, he had his back towards you so you raised the bat over your head ready to strike.

You smacked him right in the head with all your strength, but it wasn't enough to knock him down.

The stranger turned around in an instant causing you to back off in fear. He's dressed in back and white, lacking any pigment except for the red blood oozing from his forehead, you couldn't see his face due to the black cap obscuring his features but you can tell he was glaring furiously at you.

The stranger lunged himself at you, trying to pry the baseball bat from your hands. You tried to resist, but he's stronger than you, kicking you in the stomach and sending you tumbling down. The pain forced you to drop the bat which the intruder didn't waste a second to snatch up, unlike you, he held the weapon expertly in his hands.

He could beat you into an unrecognizable mesh right there. Yet instead he studied you. He gasps in realization, relaxing his stance as he looked down at you.

"(Y/n)...?" he asked unsure, shaking his head. "Yes, It's you... My puppeteer," he spoke more firmly, confident in his words.

"What are you talking about? How do you know my name!?" you asked in a slightly more panicked tone, gripping your pained stomach.

It wasn't until from the angle you are in, you could see the intruder's face properly from under his black cap. You could recognize those eyes anywhere. Mostly from multiple art interpretations and 8-bit graphics.

"You're..." you spoke into the now quiet bedroom. Unable to even finish the sentence due to how bizarre it sounded. "The batter."


	2. Not a Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is too unreal, surely it must be a dream right?  
> RIGHT!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know it's pretty common for stories in this fandom to be abandoned or left unfinished as of lately. As a reader myself i can understand it's a very frustrating feeling especially when you start to enjoy a story, so i'll commit to make sure this story reaches it's proper end.

"You've got to be shitting me." You groan. Shutting your eyes and laying your back on the carpeted floor of your bedroom. 

"One time," you murmur. "I haven't played OFF in years, I just open it last night for a quick play and now I'm having dreams about the characters again," you said to yourself in annoyance, trying to rub the sleep from your eyes.

You peeked from behind your hands to look up at the man, he could only return the expressionless stare. 

You stood up to properly face the batter. Taking in the details of his baseball uniform, the striped loose shirt, and pants, the tight black long-sleeved shirt underneath which hugged his body perfectly. He's quite athletic and well built.

"Wow, I never thought I'd be able to dream something so detailed," you said in disbelief, admiring the man in front of you, even going so far as to grip his forearm to feel the muscle underneath it his uniform. 

Much to the Batter's annoyance.

"That's enough." he snapped back at you. Lightly smacking you hand off him.

Eventually, the gesture gave you an idea.

"Punch me," you told him blankly.

"Pardon me?" the man eyed you in confusion.

"If this is a dream, the shock of the punch should wake me up imme-." you didn't even finish explaining by the time batter sucker-punched you directly in the face, even knocking you back a few steps due to the force.

"JESUS CHRIST!" You shouted in surprise, raising a hand to hold your now bloody nose. 

The pain felt real. Too real to your liking, there was no way this was a dream. "You really didn't hold back on that one did ya!?" you snapped back sarcastically.

"I don't hold back." the batter reaffirmed shaking his hand, not a drip of regret in his voice.

Geez, was he always this stoic?

"You're more of an asshole than I remember," you remarked.

This didn't please the batter.

"Should I remind you, you were the one who attacked me first," he said in annoyance, wiping the blood from his forehead.

Technically he was the one who appeared in your room uninvited, how else were you not supposed to confuse him for a robber?

"Alright, alright you got me on that one," you said in defeat, raising your hands. 

Your eyes landed back on the bloodied batter. Although you couldn't wrap your head around the fact you had a fictional character in front of you, he still closely resembled a human, I mean he sure bled like one. You couldn't help but feel empathy for the guy.

Heading to your bedside drawer, you fetched some cotton balls and disinfectant gel. Stuffing a cotton ball in your bloody nose before taking a seat on your bed.

"Come here, let me clean that up for you," you said in a calmer tone, patting the spot in front of you.

Batter eyed you suspiciously, it was more than apparent he was a little distrustful after the stunt you pulled earlier, but he eventually complied. You removed the black baseball cap from his head, placing the wet cotton ball onto the splotch of red where you smacked him. Batter hissed at the sensation, causing you to unconsciously grin at his reaction. It made him feel a bit human.

"Stings a little?" you tease while disinfecting the cut.

"I never had this trouble with luck tickets," he mumbles.

You tilted your head to the side. "Luck tickets...? oh right, the health items in the game," you remembered with a chuckle.

Batter nods in agreement.

"I remember I didn't use them that much, I would either use a competence during battle or make my way to a save point when things got too ugly for you guys." you mused, reminiscent of your previous gameplays.

"I know," he said bluntly. "You tend to hoard items you don't use." Batter added, looking down at the baseball bat he took from you. 

"How do you..." you trailed off, lightly shaking your head to the side. His answer definitely caught you off guard but it only proved as further evidence that this was the same batter from the game. Or at least, from the one, you played yesterday. "Actually, now that I think about it. Why are you here?" you asked.

The batter didn't respond immediately.

"I... don't know," he said solemnly unlike his usual stoic behavior. "All I remember is pulling down the switch and everything fading to black. But then, I woke up here." he sounded just as lost as you are. Much to your disappointment.

So much for getting answers right away.

Once you cleaned up Batter's cut you handed him his baseball cap once more. Realizing how much you'll miss seeing him without it after all the games' low resolution obscured most of his face and hair.

"And your first thought was to rummage through my closet?" you arch a brow.

"I was just trying to get the item chest." he reasoned, pointing to the interior of your closet.

"Item chest?" you repeated in confusion. "I don't have a chest in my closet..." you turned your head to look at your closet, only to see a bright purple chest stand out from between your shoe boxes and other junk.  
That wasn't there before.

You were quick to stand on your feet and head towards the mysterious chest. Your curious hands rushing to open it and when you did, you almost screamed, finding a dismembered eye inside the box. You didn't exactly grab it, instead outstretching your hand to touch it before a black box appeared above you, not as in a cardboard box but as in a digital 8-bit text box.

'Obtained eye'

It was impossible to not be puzzled by the action, so you could only just turn back to look at Batter for advice.

"It's an item. Try opening it up in your inventory," he suggested.

"And how am I supposed to do that!? I can't exactly use a keyboard," you came to the realization, this wasn't the game you were playing last night. 

So you had to get in the shoes of a character. 

"How does it look like to you when I opened the inventory in your game?" you turned to ask the batter.

"I would just pull out a black box from my pocket." Batter shrug nonchalantly, unable to understand your distress with games and reality.

"From your pocket huh?" you said to yourself. You dug your hand into your pajamas, cursing yourself when noticing your pajamas didn't have pockets... and yet, by just doing the gesture itself summoned the black box in your hand as if you really just pulled it from your pocket.

You had to admit that was pretty dope.

You opened the box to see the eye you picked up earlier. Touching it as a way to interact with the item. The eye scanned the only individual in the room which was eventually the batter, there were a few flashes of light in the room before the same black text box appeared above Batter.

The Batter (x1)  
A stoical man who likes dad jokes, potential interest, Add On meant to assist you.  
HP: 110/CP: 30  
No known weaknesses.

You gasp excitingly to yourself at the action, it was completely new to you but for the Batter, it was as common as to breathe air... or smoke.

"So this is what you were looking at when you knocked me down!" you said out loud. Mostly due to excitement.

"Yes. I used wide-angle on you earlier," he explained with a nod. "That's when I realized it was you, my puppeteer." the batter said matter of factly.

"Oh! what did the text description say about me?" you asked, genuinely curious.

"It said something among the lines of. (Y/n), easily stressed college student, the protagonist on a mission. Your health and cp points were left unknown along with your weaknesses." the batter said much to your disappointment.

"Nothing interesting there." you murmur to yourself.

Yet the 'protagonist' characteristic did seem curious. However, you didn't know how to interpret that. 

Although Batter's explanation solved one doubt, there were still other matters that left you puzzled. You didn't know what potential interest meant, however, there was something else about the description that caught your attention.

"It says you're supposed to assist me, but assist me to do what?" you wondered, raising a hand to your chin thoughtfully.

"To accomplish your mission I assume." The Batter stood up from your bed, gripping your baseball bat tightly in his hand. 

"But I don't know what my mission is..." you slump slightly. You didn't even know what you were gonna cook next week.

"Whatever it might be. If that is my purpose in this life, then so be it. I will company you and eliminate anyone who dares intrude" the batter reaffirmed with a furious loyalty. 

It was then that you heard a chirpy text box appear to your eye level.

**The Batter has joined your party.**


	3. Nothingness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nothingness is a creepy place to stay for too long, but it's necessary to continue moving forward.

You can handle many things.

Stress, Anger, your annoying neighbors and now the bizarre digital events happening now.

However, you couldn't handle what was behind your bedroom door. One look at it was enough to make you question reality, relentlessly pacing back and forth in the center of your bedroom.

Seeing you pace around was getting on the Batter's nerves. He wants you to move forward, not just run around in a ditch.

"You're overreacting." Batter says. 

You stopped your pacing only to look at the man in disbelief.

"Overreacting??" you repeat. You angrily stomp your way towards the bedroom door, opened it to reveal an unnatural endless pitch black void. "How can I be overreating if my entire department is gone!" You point at the dark space.

"There's nothing to fear it's just a means of transportation," The Batter attempts to minimize the issue, but his monotone voice makes him sound like a strict teacher. "We have a mission, you can't let every scary thing stop you from accomplishing it." he reaffirms. 

"I just think it's freaky. Even in the game i never liked being in the nothingness for too long, the whispers get to me ya know?" you rub your arm, feeling a shiver run up your spine.

"What whispers? I never hear anything."

You could only feel another shiver crawl up your spine.

Batter grumbled under his breath. "Okay, I can admit it's a bit intimidating at first but it's nothing to fret," Batter sighs, deciding to take a more amicable approach. "Here, I'll show you." he walks past you and heads into the dark void.

You cautiously followed behind him, afraid that the flooring would give in and make you fall. But luckily that never happened.

It it impressive to walk around and even jump higher than normal, you assume the gravity is different than back home, either way you don't like the change in scenery.

There isn't exactly much to look at. Just a vast dark room, like a starless night sky. 

The only thing you do see is the words 'world map' floating in the distance.

_So this is how the nothingness feels like?_

you think to yourself.

"What's that?" you asked the Batter, catching up to inspect some colors on the floor.

"Different zones I assume." he touches the spots, unable to access them.

However, things reacted differently when you interact with them.

**Bathing Room.**

That was enough to raise an eyebrow from you.

You checked out the other zones, going one by one in each in order.  
**Devour Room.**

**Coexisting Room.**

With **Employment Room** being the last in line.

The other zones remain inaccessible, with the exception being the first Room.

You held a hand to your chin, contemplating the meaning behind these 'rooms'.

Judging from what you've seen so far with Batter and the text boxes, video game logic was the only logic allowed now. So it's easy to assume these rooms are the equivalent of zones or levels. 

Why did your department and even reality became a video game? Who knows, but it's something you can get to the bottom of it.

"Let's start with the bathing room," You told the Batter, crouching in front of the first colored spot. "If we wanna figure out what's going on, then might as well play this game."

"If we have a goal there's gonna be things that might stop us, aren't you scared of that?" Batter asks you sternly. 

"Of course it does, I'm quite terrified actually," you chuckle. "But it makes me less scared knowing I'm not alone. I have you by my side right?" 

"Right,"

The Batter kept his eyes on you for a moment. Although you couldn't see it there was a modest smile painted on his lips, glad to see you take initiative. "Just like old times."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad to know there are people willing to catch up with this story <3
> 
> I needed something to keep the inspiration going so i downloaded the HOME fangame a while ago and i love it to bits! My respects to the creator and my condolence to his family.  
> 


	4. To Guard And Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Traveling to a new world brings more than just exploration.

A pair of white rings surrounded you and the Batter before transporting you two to a nearby save point, manifested by a familiar floating red cube on a dock. 

You walked off the dock and stood on what you assume, is the main land.

Everything felt... Artificial in a way. It was hard to describe. The quietness, the dull colors. Even the light breeze that caresses your face felt foreign to you. 

Shaking off the weirdness aside. You focus on the current area. 

Your first reaction is to head straight into the building and check out the bath house, however you decided against it. Turning on your heel and heading. 

Unlike the lack of anything in the nothingness, the outdoor exterior is much more vast.

You can see from afar a tall building standing in solid platform like an island of sorts, surrounded by the calm liquid of a pale ocean reflecting a sterile clear sky. There wasn't much space for you to look or walk far, so your feet guided you to the left side of the building. Where a walkway was visible from a clear opening.

"Where are you going?" Batter asked you, following behind anyway. 

"We're obviously supposed to head inside that building, but aren't you curious to look for any hidden items or secrets first?" you eagerly rub your hands together.

Batter could only sigh. "I disagree, we shouldn't stray from our intended path." he said.

"Come'on Batter. Where is your sense of adventure?" you walk mindlessly, unaware of the collecting dust at your feet. 

Your sense of adventure is what drives your forward. Searching every corner for any secrets, but that curiosity brings in a friend. 

And that friend, is danger. 

A black entity grew out from the pile of dust at your feet, looming forward with a snap of it maw. You jumped back in fear at the sudden intrusion, the monster's teeth barely scrapping your shin before batter lunged himself towards the dusty creature. Knocking it out of existence with the sheer force of his swings. 

Whatever that thing was, it was tangible enough for Batter to plunge it to death, leaving nothing but specs of dust and sludge.

You stayed quiet, even after the monster's ashes vanished and Batter handed you a luck ticket it left.

"...Thanks." you said lowly, almost as a whisper. 

"I told you we shouldn't have strayed from our main path." the batter grumbles, wiping the sludge from his baseball bat. 

"And yet... you still follow me?" you say, looking back at him like a scold.

"Of course. Because you're the one in charge." he admitted, before quietly adding "...And its my duty to protect you." 

This made you grin mischievously. 

"Oh? So I'm like, your boss~?" 

"..." Batter soon regretted his choice of words "Don't do this now."

"And you'll protect me from now on~?"

"I'm warning you." he threatened with a growl. 

You chuckle a little. "Just saying." you hum contentedly. Enjoying the small banter between you two. 

You had a feeling he didn't want to admit it, cause he knew it's a truth that would just amuse you further.

And he is right. Just not the way he thinks.

It feels both exciting to be in charge, but also kind of scary to have such responsibility now. You are the one who makes the decisions, and they will not only affect the Batter, but you as well. You don't have the safety behind the screen, your life is on the line too.

"Hey Batter." you spoke up.

"Hmm?" he continued wiping his baseball bat, not even sparing you a glance. 

"I'll watch your back too." you said truthfully.

The Batter stopped cleaning to look back at you, a little less grumpy than a second ago. "That's, always good to know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He protec  
> He attac  
> But most importantly, he got your bac.
> 
> It's 3am and I'll probably have to fix some grammar errors here and there later, sucks when English isn't your first language. Anyway enjoy.


	5. The Masked Man by the Docks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You never had to worry about item management before, until limited inventory space told you otherwise. Maybe a familiar friend could help you?

After that incident, you'd expect a lecture from the Batter but instead you recieved the opposite.

"Let's keep going then," he agrees much to your surprise. "If there are enemies here, then that means there's something useful down this walkway."

You nod happily, standing right behind him as he leads the way.

The monsters became less terrifying the more frequent they appeared andthe quicker Batter dispatched them.

**Dust Bunnies 40 hp/ 50 cp**   
_A group of aggressive dust particles resembling a rabbit._   
_Resistance to Smoke._

Or atleast that's what his competence said.

The Batter kept his promise. Any monster that crossed your path was met with the blunt edge of his baseball bat. Leaving behind piles of ash and dropping a good amount of credits, luck tickets and the occasional eye. However more items meant they took up more space in your inventory, at first you didn't have any issues but after stuffing so many tickets in your pockets, they are practically spilling at this point.

After 'purrifying another dust bunny, Batter casually dusted his jersy until you approached him from behind. "Are you alright? do you need another luck ticket?" you say attentively.

"I'm fine," he grunts. "Also, I don't want to sound rude puppeteer but this is the 8th time you offer me a ticket. If you can't pick up any more then leave them behind." he sounds rather grumpy.

You couldn't blame him for his mood. After all his own pockets are humorously stuffed to the brim with tickets and credits after you convinced him to carry a few for you.

"But I don't want them to go to waste!" you whine. "I know its strange that our inventory has limited space to begin with. But I can assure you we can sell the luck tickets we don't need for more credits."

"Getting a little greedy I see." Batter shook his head.

"Oh come on! if we meet a merchant we can buy you new stuff. Think about it Batter, a stronger jersey and a new wicked baseball bat for you to kill monsters. That sounds effective for our mission doesn't it?" you wrap an arm around the Batter's shoulder, indulging him in your little fantasy.

"...A new bat does sound nice." he replies with a nod, slightly convinced than before.

"That's the spirit!" you chime. Unable to notice the way Batter's eye twitch.

The both of you continue to walk side by side down the narrow walkway. A few meters in and the only obstacle you encounter are a stack of crates blocking the path. But it's not much of an obstacle when you can easily climb over them.

You lightly ran your hand across the walls of the brick building beside you, humming an unknown tune as you enjoy the calm ambience.

At this pace, you started to notice small details of your environment. Hot steam coming out of metal pipes, small docks beside the walkway that didn't lead anywhere, crates and cylinder buckets scattered here and there. You made sure to check each and everyone of them to make sure there aren't any hidden chests. The game designer inside of you reasoned that, if you weren't meant to roam this area, it wouldn't be decorated in such a way, even less be accessible.

Sooner or later you reached the end of the walkway. There's a staircase to your right that leads to the backdoor on the building, you tentively grab along the doorknob, turning it sideways only to find it locked.

This kills the last bit of motivation left in you.

"I don't get it. There's gotta be something worth walking all the way here," you double check inside empty barrels, clinging to any hope left. "An item, a clue, anything. Or maybe we haven't found something to unlock the door..." you ramble on to yourself.

"Puppeteer, maybe we just weren't meant to be here yet, it happens all the time..." Btter tries to console you. However, he notices a lone figure sitting on the edge of one of the docks that splits from the walkway, just sitting there and contemplating the ocean view.

The athlete returns his view to you, seeing you desperately try to reason with yourself that this walk wasn't useless. Batter sighs, he didn't want to see you like this, so he walks over to the stranger and gain anything for you.

He held a tight grip on his baseball bat as he carefully approached the figure, using wide-angle just in case.

"Hello Batter," the figure says calmly. "Didn't expect to see you again after your holy carnage, I see you have company." the stranger turned to look at you in the distance.

Batter's breath hitched up, the information revealed to him made him grow tense. "It's you, how do you still remember-?"

"Batter did you find something?" you ask from afar, walking up to him.

The athlete immediately rushed back to you, turning you around with a hurry.

"There's nothing here. Let's go check the building," he told you.

"Why? We haven't talked to that npc over there yet," you point. But the Batter stood in front of you, blocking your view of the guy.

"He's probably not important."

"He's all the way over here and alone. He must definitely be of importance!" you tried to get around the athlete, but he kept interrupting you.

"Or it could be a trap." he reasoned.

"What are you talking about? He looks friendly, look he's even waving at us." you peeked over Batter's shoulder to notice the figure waving at the two of you.

"Hello!" you hear the figure say.

It was then that you placed your hands on your hips, eyeing the Batter suspiciously. "What are you hiding from me? Why don't you want me to see who that is?" you pressed on, trying to get an answer from the stoic man.

"I can explain it later..."

"No, I want you to explain it now." you tap your foot to the ground.

The staring match between you and the Batter was intense but short-lived when the figure walked up to you two.

"Pardon mon amie, am I interrupting something?" you heard a distinctive chuckle from behind the Batter.

Your ears perked at the sound.

"Zacharie?" your eyes widen at the sight of the merchant, unceremoniously pushing Batter aside.

"It's nice to finally meet you in the flesh puppeteer." Zacharie chuckles, offering to shake your hand.

"My... this is a sight to behold!" you grin to yourself, earning another chuckle from Zacharie.

You were basically absorbed with the HD details on the young man. From his toad mask, to the individual dark strands on his hair and even the little heart on his shirt. This is probably some sort of HD remake!

"You're a sight for sore eyes as well my dear." he winked from under his mask. Or at least that's what you think, it's hard to see his eyes properly.

You could hear Batter cough into his hand, catching both you and Zacharie's attention.

"Oh! right. If you're happy to see us, then wait til you see our credits," you happily dig up the currency from your pockets.

"I am always thrilled to get rid of those heavy credits from you mi amigo, unfortunately i have no items to repay you with." the man laments.

Batter held your hands, stopping you from giving Zacharie your credits.

"What do you mean?" you ask in a confused tone.

Zacharie shook his head lightly, chuckling to himself before directing his view to the man beside you. "Why don't you ask the Batter?"

The instant glare the Batter sent Zacharie was almost comical in a way. But the athlete had no other choice but to give in the information.

Batter released your hand with a sigh, summoning a the flashing lights of a familiar competence to analyse the mask man in front of you.

 **Zacharie (x1) 100 HP/30 CP:**  
Amicable man hiding behind a mask, carries a spacious backpack. Potential interest, Add on meant to aid you. 

**No known weaknesses.**

There it is again, the potential interest thing. You still didn't know what it means but most importantly, Zacharie is an add on now?

At the sight of his description, Zacharie could only sigh. "By some reason beyond my understanding, I no longer serve as a merchant in this world. Which is a shame cause I love my old job. However do not fret my amigo, since I can definitely store those valuable items of yours..." he stuck his hands inside his pockets, looking back at you slyly. "With a reasonable fee of course."

You chuckle to yourself, this was legitimately the same Zacharie.

The melancholic tone in his voice hints that he misses his role of merchant, but that doesn't stop him from finding a way to thrive in this new world.

And you can respect that.

You took a step forward, tempted by the man's offer, only to have Batter stop you once more. "We don't need him, like you said we should save our credits for useful items." he said out loud, having no disregard for the masked man in front of you two.

"I can hear you ya know?" Zacharie pointed out.

You kept your eyes locked on the Batter.

"Zacharie can be useful to our mission too," You defend. "Just think about it Batter, if this game limits our personal inventory it's because we're supposed to have Zacharie on the team. Not to mention we could use more strength during fights."

Batter was having a hard time accepting these facts, you can tell by the way his nose scrunched up when he sneers.

"I am more than capable of handling monsters without any help, we've been doing great together so far."

"Batter, this is the best course of action for the team. You said it yourself, we need to more forward." you lowered your voice, reminding him who's in charge.

The Batter reluctantly let go of you wrist, murmuring something under his breath. You'd have to talk to him later.

"What's your fee?" you turn to ask Zacharie, your voice sounding less serious than before.

"About 200 credits should suffice," he extended his hand.

You dropped the exact amount on Zacharie's awaiting hand, counting the money before pocketing it in his personal inventory.

**Zacharie has joined your party.**


	6. Color

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You never realized how much difference a splash of color can do.

"Amazing, I didn't know you had tattoos!" you exclaim in excitement.

"I'm just as amazed as you are." Zacharie chuckles. 

Batter grumbles under his breath. Since he is the strongest member in the team, Batter wanted to take the lead in case any enemies catch them by surprise meanwhile Zacharie would keep an eye out from behind. The only flaw he didn't predict in his strategy is that now you and Zacharie are close to each other, distracting him with conversation.

"Did you notice this Batter? You guys have color and texture now! I can't believe I missed it for a second." you continue to admire the man beside you.

"It's not important to the mission so I didn't bother with it." the Batter responds in disinterest.

Your reaction is the complete opposite from Batter's. It's like seeing new 3D models of your favorite video game's remake.

You continue to admire the mask man. How his skin has a tan pigment, with fun doodle like tattoos littered all over his arms and hands, his mask looks smooth to the touch even though you haven't had Zach's permission to touch or hold it yet. But by just looking at it you assume it's thick and layered with plastic. His clothes weren't too colorful, but the red heart and the cotton like texture on his shirt is nice to look at. However, the odd thing is that the knitted pattern looks like someone tried to recreate a sweater but has never seen one in the flesh.

"Well it is to me! I live for these kinds of details, it's like looking at a 3D remake of you guys~" you chime joyfully. "Come'on Batter, you gotta admit you're looking pretty slick." you compliment the man, but he remain apathetic. 

He shrugs off his new appearance. Strangely enough, he did enjoy having your attention on him instead of Zacharie. Yet, he looked you up and down before commenting. "If color equal to slick, then I have bad news for you."

You looked at him baffled. "What are you talking about, I'm always lookin slick." you pout, figuring he was just messing with you. 

The Batter opened his mouth to say something, however he decided against it and kept it closed.

Zacharie was the one to speak up instead. "Player, I hate to bring bad news but maybe you should have a look at yourself." he said carefully. 

Now you were really starting to get worried. 

Crouching in the edge of the walkway so you could see your reflection in the ocean liquid. With all the new color in the world it was easy to tell you are the only one lacking it, from your skin tone to the pajamas you are still wearing now drenched in a monochrome palette. 

"I-I don't get it. Is this bad?" you ask worryingly, searching answers from your add ons. 

But even Zacharie, the 4th wall destroyer didn't have any answers. 

"This is weird." you mumble, feeling bummed out for a second. 

The Batter isn't the best person to comfort others, but he knew he didn't want to see you upset. 

"You had color back at your bedroom," batter brings up, remembering how much he contrasts to the colorful room. "We could go for a while if you like?" he suggests. 

Zacharie raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest "My, and here I thought you were the reserved one Batter." he teases. 

The Batter clenched his teeth together, lowering his head so his cap could obscure the blush on his face.

"That's not what I meant." he growls.

You try to interject in the conversation in a passive way, the last thing you need is Batter lowering Zacharie's hp.

"He's right though, maybe my room is like the starting point in this world?" you tried to comprehend before diminishing the problem. 

"It doesn't matter though, seeing the color on you guys is way better than my own." you smile, standing up from the edge of the walkway while dusting yourself .

Batter took a second look at his own clothing and pigment, maybe these new designs aren't so bad after all. Zacharie also adjusted the mask on his face properly, as a way to make himself more presentable.

Especially because the player likes the color on them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The player's room works like a main hub like zone 0 since it has access to the nothingness.
> 
> Now that Zach is in the picture I'll have to either divide the attention between them or make separate mini chapters so their relationship with player can grow.


	7. Battle Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's easy to let Batter go auto and do his own thing. Too easy.

Letting the Batter take the lead and go auto mode is a blessing in certain occasions. Mostly when you're attacked by a small group of enemies or just grinding experience points and those sweet credits.

However, you can't just stay behind and watch the fights unravel in front of you.

An odd occurrence happened when three dust bunnies joined together and turned into a larger and intimidating creature.

"What is it Batter?" you ask the man in front of you.

 **Rabbit King ( x1) **  
Weakness to plastic, high resistance to Metal. 

The rabbit sneered at the three of you, its elongated maw showing grotesque overgrown buck teeth. Whatever that thing is, it resembled more a group of furless rabbits meshed together by the tail.

"Rabbit King." He held out his arm from preventing you from getting any closer to the monster.

"Looks like a nasty conjoined version of our little dusty friends." Zacharie observed, taking a step in forward. "If they can learn how to fight like a team, then it's no reason for us to do it as well. Don't you think player?"

You frantically look back and forth between Zacharie and Batter, cowering behind the athlete at the sight of the Rabbit.

But suddenly the sound of a familiar song started playing in the back of your head, you tap your foot to the irregular but pleasant beat.

BATTLE TIME.

You raised your hand to the option present in front of you, muscle memory making you choose auto like earlier times, but you swiftly aimed to the opposite.

"Engage." you say out loud, holding your ground side by side with your add ons.

"With pleasure." Batter grins, preparing his stance.

"At your command mon amie." Zacharie nods. 

"I'll defend this round, Batter use a plastic attack, metal won't do shit to this sucker."

"On it." the athlete pulled out a plastic baseball from his pocket. You can tell it's not like a usual plastic toy, it has some heavy weight to it as he tosses it up and down in his palm.

"And Zach..." you turned to the ex merchant. "This is my first time seeing you in battle so, show me what you got!" you motivate the masked man. Genuinely excited to see his moveset in action.

"I'll do my best." Zacherie finger guns you.

Batter grinds his teeth at the exchange, tossing his ball in the air before furiously hitting it with his baseball bat. The ball whistles through the air before striking on the Rabbit monster in the snout with a disgusting crunch.

"Whoa a critical hit! Nice one Batter." you cheer on. "Zacharie, give him a hit, let's see if that was enough to knock'em down."

The Masked Man followed your order, smacking the monster with his backpack before retrieving back to formation.

While you wait for your team to recover and attack again, the rabbit king ready its claws. The batter is its major threat, aiming to scratch over his chest but the batter took it like a champ, raising his bat to shield his chest from the claws and taking minimal damage along the way.

"Batter!" you called out to the man, taking a quick glance at the stats your are only able to see, told you he is fine. Mostly. "Think you can hold out a little longer?" you ask worryingly.

"That was but a scratch." he smirks.

"Alright, let's attack the three of us." you says.

Coordinating your team is easier than you thought since you understand how the think and work. Batter is aggressive, he aims directly for the blow he believes is the weakest while Zacharie takes a moment to figure out how to imbalance a target, attacking multiple spots at once.

Because you and Zacharie don't have weapons you two resorted to using your fists, but where Zacharie had extra damage because of the weight of his backpack, you had nothing.

Your fist didn't do significant damage when it landed on the Rabbit King's face. The proximity allowed it to slash at your stomach, sending you tumbling back.

 **Status:** Paralyzed.

Both add ons cried your name in worry, you internally started to panic the second you couldn't move your extremities. But the music kept playing inside your head, the battle must go on, so for both yours and your teams sake, you tried to keep yourself steady.

"Don't let it distract you I'll be fine in a few turns!" you warned both men, reminding them of the battle in hand. "Batter, keep using plastic competences and Zacharie, keep attacking like you did before. Everyone has an hp that goes to 0 at some point!"

You gulp. Processing your own words.

_'Even mine..'_

By the time you could feel your body again, Batter landed the finishing blow to the rabbit king. Leaving behind a mush of flesh, credits, a silver flesh and the typical experience points. But now that you can actually see them, they manifested themselves as small blinking lights (like fireflies) flying straight into the three of you.

Zacharie was the first to run towards you, helping you stand to your feet.

"(y/n) are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine... Just feeling really tired." you try to resist the urge to yawn. "Let me see how you guys are doing."

Despite your state you checked the party's stats.

Batter is the one who went through the most damage, having a 2/4 of his hp down while Zacharie was thriving with a 4/4 of his hp intact. Yours however, was a low 1/4.

"You don't look fine to me." Batter noticed. He suddenly picked you up bridal style, jogging in a light pace towards the floating square you two started on.

"Where are you going? The building is over there, we need to head there to continue our journey!" you raised your voice in confusion.

But Batter stayed strict and firm, hearing how agitated he really was. "We need to take you to the save point to recover health."

Zacharie was following behind, unable to keep up with Batter's legs, for every step he took Zacharie had to take 20. "He's right, we can't continue if our leader is down. Well, we could if we drag you around... but you know what I mean." Zach agreed.

Batter slowed his pace once the save point came to view, lowering you to your feet so you could interact with the floating block.

**Health and Competence Recovered.**

The familiar message flashed before your eyes.

You checked your add ons stats again, fortunately finding them at their max health. A ghost of a smile graced your lips until you noticed your own health bar once more, still at 1/4.

"It didn't work." you admit solemnly.

Batter didn't outward say it but you could see the way he held a tight grip on his bat. He's worried, both of them are.

However Zacharie reacted in a different way, he dug through his backpack pulling out a handful of luck tickets. "It's no biggie, with one of this babies you'll be at full health in no time." the Masked Man said hopefully. He approached you with one of the tickets, ripping it on your chest and waiting for it to do it's magic.

You checked your stats once more to see nothing has changed. You didn't have the guts to tell him so you simply shook your head.

Zacharie remained quiet. "That one was probably defective, let me try again." he ripped another luck ticket on your chest, letting the white sparks land on your body without any avail.

"Zach stop, you'll just waste them." you told the man.

You turned around to look back at the floating red block, unlike the yellow ones these take you back to the nothingness. To your room.

Your raised your monochrome hand, admiring how much you contrasted with this colorful world. How it's rules don't apply to you.

_Maybe I'm the issue?_

"How about I rest a little at my room?" you comment.

"It's worth a try." Zacharie looked back at Batter.

"At least you'll be safe there." The Batter nods.


	8. While you Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a small conversation between Batter and Zacharie while you sleep.

Batter crosses his arms as he keeps his eyes glued to your bedroom door, paranoid that another one of those rodent enemies would barge in an interrupt your sleep.

Speaking of which.

He spared the door for a second to glance at your direction. Your peaceful figure sleeping safe in sound on the comfort of your plush bed. Batter looked away, returning his broad stare at the door.

"Would you relax already? This is a safe zone after all." Zacharie pokes fun at the athlete. Unlike the Batter, Zacharie was right beside your bed. Making himself comfortable on the fuzzy floor rug around your bed while he reorganized the contents of his backpack.

"I won't relax until I help (y/n) carry out their mission." Batter said in a stoic way.  
"You're quite something, aren't you?" Zacharie chuckles at the other man's behavior. Making sure he didn't disturb you with the volume of his voice. "I believe the player wouldn't want you tensed up 24/7, they would want you to rest as well."

Batter narrowed his eyes at the masked man, something about his comment jagging inside of him. "And what makes you think you know more about (y/n) than me?"

"I just do, we get along quite well." Zacharie says with a dry chuckle. "What about it anyway?" he asks, intrigued by the Batter's sudden attachment towards you. When the athlete stayed quiet, Zacharie raised an eyebrow from underneath his mask, lowering the items in his backpack to fully focus on the topic at hand.

"Sure you two have similar interests, but I'm the one who spent the most time with them." Batter reminds Zach, almost proudly. "I've been with them ever since we fought together, i know them more than anyone."

Zacharie waved a hand in the air nonchalantly.

"But that was back in our previous lives my friend. The player now can make choices of their own. How do you know (y/n) still trusts you after revealing the truth behind your, so called, sacred quest?" the ex-merchant puts emphasis on his quest, pointing at the bat in Batter's hands. "They could kick you out of the party if they so choose to, have you ever thought about that?"

The mere suggestion that his puppeteer no longer believed in his actions inexplicably caused Batter's blood to boil. Even feeling offended that Zach would suggest such a thing about you.

Batter knew his player would never do that.

Right?

"Because in the end, they choose me. They choose to fight by my side and that's all the proof I need." Batter reaffirmed with the same unwavering loyalty.

Zacharie didn't reply at first.

Instead his eyes landed on your sleeping form with a sense of melancholic longing.

"I know." Zacharie sighs, his hands unconsciously touching the frog mask on his face. Remembering the one he wore to mourn with pablo. Zach could only hope his friend didn't suffer too much before dying. "If player didn't help you, the world wouldn't have ended in the first place." he added as if stating the obvious.

"You saw how miserable everyone was under his rule. It had to be done." Batter states firmly without regret, still believing he did the right thing.

"...It's all in the past." the ex-merchant shook his head lightly. Zacharie didn't seem to hold a grudge against you two for practically killing everyone and even a few of his loved ones, he isn't that kind of man, instead opting to try to move forward. 

But Zacharie does admit, there were times when he questioned what it would've been like if you had chosen him as your puppet instead of the Batter. The adventures you two would've had, the silly situations you would've shared. Would you have made the same decision if you saw things through his perspective?

Zacharie had no way of actually knowing back then, he was just an npc who wasn't coded to even fight, he considered himself lucky to even be able to see you. But now, he has a chance. A chance to help you, a chance to create new memories and have fun... a chance to...

His hand unconsciously went to the heart on his shirt, the small action providing him with a sense of comfort. "All that matters now is the present and helping the player." Zacharie reaffirmed his priorities, staying true to his own goals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a small mini chapter to connect the previous chapter with the next one. Also, gotta have some rivalry to spice things up, don't ya think? ;)


	9. Equipment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the damage you suffered in the previous battle, you realize you need to be well equipped before going out again.

Going out into a different world with only your pajamas isn't a wise choice.

Just look at Batter. 

You don't know how, but his jersey shirts manage to protect him like armor! Something you need after fighting your first enemy. 

You hold up a nice looking shirt from your closet. Eyes landing to the text box that pops up when you interact with an article of clothing. You sigh at the description, tossing it to the side when it didn't have the stats you were looking for. 

"What do you think of this one? Does it make me look intimidating?" you ask your add ons for advice. Holding up a different shirt with little hedgehogs on it, pressing it against your chest. 

"Oooh, it's cute." Zacharie comments happily, swinging his feet back and forth while sitting at the edge of your bed. 

"So, so," Batter shakes his head, standing opposite of the room where Zacharie was sitting. 

You look back at the cute shirt placing it back inside the closet as you continue to rummage through. 

While Batter stood patiently in his spot against the wall, Zacharie was more curious. 

Taking in the details of your bedroom, looking at your stuff on the shelves of your drawer with a keen eye, the more he looked at your stuff, the more he learned about you. The empty food wrappers beside your bed made it noticeable you like to snack occasionally, the books on the shelves told him what kind of literature you like, and the desk piled with notebooks and desk supplies made it clear you were a student. Zacharie loved learning more about his player, like an interesting book to read through.

His fingertips graced through your notebooks before a bright object caught his attention. Zacharie made his way to a shelf primarily storing a couple of plastic figurines resembling bright characters he was unfamiliar with. The top shelf however, had the object that caught his attention. It was, much to his surprise, an un-sheath samurai sword perched on top of a wooden base. 

"Excuse me player, but why do you have a sword in your bedroom? You never struck me as a sword wielder." Zacharie asks, seeking your attention before aiming to grab the mentioned object. 

"Oh that old thing? I bought it at a convention some time ago. I thought it would be nice to have if I ever cosplay for Halloween, but I never got around with it. So I just hang it in my room as decoration." you shrug. 

"Interesting. Would you mind if I try it?"

"Knock yourself out." you say in a sing song voice. 

Zacharie grabbed hold of the sheathed sword, pulling it from its confinement to show its pristine metal. It was obvious you have never used it, with the exception of dust and a few scratches on the handle the blade is practically brand new. The mask man looked at himself in the reflection, his excited eyes looking back at him. 

While Zacharie messed around with his weapon of choice, Batter stood away from his spot on the wall to walk up to you.

"Why are you so concerned with your choice of clothing?" Batter asked you.

You pressed your lips together. 

"I just want something with good stats you know?" you tried to reason, even though everything in your closet was low-level. However, the Batter could see through your bluff.

"Anything looks fine on you, just pick something you're comfortable with." Batter suggested. 

You looked back at the monochromatic man with a slight shocked expression, before shaping into a smile. 

"Alright, though I need you two to go outside first so I can change." you gently tapped Batter's shoulder towards the door. 

Zacharie followed Batter to the nothingness, still keeping a hold of his new sword. 

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Batter asked Zacharie. "The last thing I want is for you to slow down the player's progress."

"Let's just say i have a good feeling about this. Like someone made me for it." the masked man chuckles, tucking the sword inside his spacious backpack.

You eventually opened your door, no longer in pajamas but in an outfit you usually wear. Batter is right, if you're gonna be running around and being active, you might as well feel comfortable.

"Alright, let's get this bread"

Batter and Zacharie looked at each other in confusion, much to your amusement. "I'll explain it later." you chuckle, stepping in the portals once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like the party is well equipped with exploring the first zone! Also, let me know what you think about the pacing of this story.


	10. The Bathing Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to explore the mysterious building in zone 1, but there's a slight possibility this could be a trap. For that you'll have to split up and pick who'll be tagging along with you.

The zone name is a dead give away. Must be a bathroom right? easy as that.

"Huh. Well... this is a thing apparently." You say curiously.

Crossing your arms over your chest as you read the sign above your head. Furrowing your brows together in thought, trying to grasp the concept presented in front of you.

Your trustworthy add ons are right beside you, reading the sign as well but not finding anything out of the ordinary.

"Tell me Batter. Do you know what bathrooms are? i mean, do you even use one? i know you eat meat and all but it has to come out someway..." you rambled, going into a tangent that irked the batter.

"I KNOW what a bathroom is." he grunts.

Zacharie could be heard chuckling in the back.

You uncrossed your arms with a silent nod.

"Good, because this definitely isn't a bathroom." you state firmly, pointing at the sign in front of you.

The sign read: **Welcome to The Bathhouse! Please leave your shoes by the entrance and register in the reception.**

Your first impression of the room closely resembled a usual reception area, but it wasn't stylized as such. With checkered baby blue and white tiled flooring and walls, small carpets and the smell of chlorine, soap and humidity linger in the air.

It reminded you of a pool.

Strangely enough, it also reminded you of your own bathroom.

"Welcome to the Bathhouse, may i schedule you three to one of our sauna or a spas?" the receptionist said happily. "Or can I interest you in our contemporary membership at our miniature water park?"

"Oooh, a spa sounds nice don't you think player?" Zacharie cooed at the sound of that.

Batter obviously wasn't on board with the idea. "Stay focused merchant, we are on a mission here!" the taller man scold Zacharie by poking him on the chest. "Isn't that right (y/n)?" he looked back at you, waiting for your confirmation.

"Ex-merchant to be exact..." the masked man mumbled under his breath.

You wanted to burst laughing at the sight of these two grown men fighting over your favor, but there was an issue to take care of first. "Batter is right, we have matters to attend in our hands..." you say.

Batter opened his mouth, most likely to say 'I told you so' to Zacharie.

"But... If we want to gain some intel on the situation, we'll have to explore the bathhouse." you add with a cheeky smile, matching Zacharie's own eager expression.

Seeing that you agreed with him, Zach wanted to rub it in front of Batter's face if it wasn't because he was already agreeing with you.

"Very well, I trust your judgment player." Batter nods faithfully, causing Zach to roll his eyes at his shift in behavior.

The three of you registered for all the activities available, the more ground you cover the better.

"Splendid. Here are your key cards that allow access to the room, there is a changing room down the hall for more appropriate wear." the helpful elsen explained. "Enjoy." he waved at the three of you.

Once you were out of earshot of the receptionist, you huddled closer to your add ons.

"Didn't you notice something strange about the elsen receptionist?" you murmured.

"What do you mean?" Zach asks.

"Elsens are usually... you know, nervous train wrecks. It's odd to see them act so happy go luckily, to the point it feels almost forceful." you try to explain the best you can, there was no real proof but it was more of a hunch.

"You think someone is forcing them to act out-of-place?" The Batter looks around himself suspiciously, unsure if there's something watching them now.

"I think so. But it's okay, I've seen this in other games before." you reassure your team confidently, tossing your arms around the two men. "Either way, we'll solve this in no time."

You are certain about the situation which is why you're confident about solving this small mystery with the elsen, but then again, the last time you were confident about something you ended up taking a genocide route.

Maybe that's why it's wise to learn more before jumping to conclusions or action.

"We will help you in any way possible." Batter nods.

"Yeah, you can count on us (y/n)!" Zach adds with a pat on your shoulder.

You smile to yourself, happy to have the company of these two splendid people.

You were met with the changing rooms at the end of the hallway just like the receptionist said. It's a simple room with pale blue and gray lockers lined up in rows, Zacharie sat on one of the benches so he could drop his backpack while Batter simply leaned his baseball bat against the wall.

Another small sign hanged over the entrance.

**Please check your pass card for your assigned locker to store personal items. Clients are not allowed to enter the bathhouse spa with outside items, shoes or clothing not adjusted to the spas.**

You huff to yourself in annoyance. "I can't believe it, after all that time choosing an outfit." you begrudgingly kick the locker beside you.

"What if it's a trap? If we're unprotected without our weapons or equipment, it would be the perfect timing for an ambush." Batter reasoned. He had a point, there was no doubt about his logic.

You held a hand to your chin, pondering on the possibility of an ambush.

"I have an idea, but i don't know what you think of it." Zacharie readjusted the mask on his face. "If the three of us were ambushed that would leave us in disadvantage right? but what if they don't capture the entire party? We could split in two groups, one would keep an eye out for suspicious activity and the other continues like normal clients." the ex merchant suggests smoothly.

"And how would we split?" you ask, indulging further in Zacharie's idea.

"Either me or Batter will stay with you to test the spa while the other inspects around." you answered.

"That sounds highly ineffective, wouldn't it be better if two inspect the building than just one?" Batter doubts Zacharie's plan, crossing his arms over his chest.

Zacharie chuckles at the Batter. "It would be better, but may i remind you that our dear player here cannot regain health? It would be best to not put them at risk during a search of the building."

Batter took a step forward, more than ready to argue about the flaws of Zacharie's plan, but you held the athlete back.

"Wait. He's right. It would be time consuming to go all the way back to the save point." you tried to ease the Batter. "I'll be fine with one of you with me."

The Batter looked at you protectively before returning his passive aggressive glare at Zach.

"And who would company the puppeteer?" Batter asked.

"That would be up for (y/n) to decide." Zacharie nodded in your direction.

You could feel the humid air of the bathhouse grow tense between the two men, you knew they are both reasonable and would accept whoever you picked, but that didn't remove the fact it made you feel nervous and indecisive. You took a small breath, both of them are fully capable of defending you and they've proved themselves observant enough to obtain important information, in the end it's just your own preference.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho~ Now this is where the choices start to appear and deviate so you can build up affection points with the character you wanna romance.
> 
> The way i'll handle this is that I'll be uploading two different variations of the same chapter, one for Zacharie and one for Batter. The deviation with the specific character will only last one chapter before returning to the main focus/dynamic with the party.


	11. Blow off some Steam (Zacharie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blowing off some steam with the good ol' masked merchant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to the beginning of the Zacharie route! enjoy the artwork i made for this chapter! :-) and for those who don't wanna romance Batter nor Zacharie, just skip to the next chapter, i'll be sure to drop off some complementary Sucre art <3 ;-)

Your eyes land on Zacharie.

If there's a chance things could go wrong and you two end up ambushed, then there's no doubt the combination between Zacharie and you could handle the hardest of situations. After all, he's more than familiar with the internal workings of video games.

"Zachaire, looks like you're coming with me." you tell the athlete with a cheeky grin. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." you joke around.

"Oh, on the contrary, you are the one stuck with me." Zacharie played along.

You turn to face the athlete. "Okay Batter, me and Zach will pretend to be normal clients while you scoot off and find something of worth. Think you can do for me old friend?"

"Of course. I'll do everything in my power to carry out the task." the batter nods.

"Excellent."

"I'll leave (y/n) in your sneaky hands Zacharie. Take care of the puppeteer for me and don't screw this up." Batter warns the ex-merchant with a firm tone. Grabbing his baseball bat from the wall and heading to the opposite direction of the sauna.

You turn around to face your temporary undercover partner. Standing on your tip toes to ruffle his black hair.

"It's showtime." you say to your add on, heading to your assigned locker while Zacharie went to his.

The masked man flipped the card in his hand, eyeing the piece of plastic before placing the key card in front of the locker, opening it without any trouble. Inside the metal locker is a pair of sandals, a towel and a bathrobe made of an unknown texture.

 _Most likely the same material as puppeteer's clothes._ He assumes.

Zacharie turned around to ask you what was the name of said materials until the question got stuck in his throat, seeing you are already a step ahead of him by removing half of your clothing. You were a little oblivious to the fact Zach kept staring at you, it wasn't until you were in your underwear when you finally noticed him.

"Something wrong?" you ask with a hint of concern in your voice, tilting your head to the side as you fold your clothing.

"Oh! no, nothing is wrong." Zacharie sheepishly responds, scratching the back of his neck.

"You still have your clothes on though." you notice. Nodding towards his own clothing, an amusing smile crossing on your lips. "Don't tell me you've been wearing that shirt for so long it's glued to your skin?." you giggle at the thought.

"Not at all mon ami, in fact I could easily prove you wrong." the masked man tugged the edge of his shirt collar with a sigh, aware that his neck has a darker tone than the rest of his body. At least he could still keep his mask on.

"You sure?" you ask all of a sudden, closer than Zacharie anticipated.

The man jumped to his feet, unaware on how you approached him so quickly. At some point you slipped on the bath robe, it was still parted lightly enough for him to catch a glimpse of your chest, not to mention his taller height made it so he had a distinctive view.

"But what about the mask?" you wonder, your eyes trailing across the item on his face as you raise your hand to touch it. "Can you remove that?"

Zacharie stood still in his spot, his eyes refusing to leave your form. He gently grabbed your hand in his, lowering it away from his frog shaped mask.

"I can. But I'd rather not." he muses, caressing his thumb across your knuckles, drawing your attention away from his mask. "Can't a man keep his secrets?" he asks you innocently.

"Yes, yes he can."

It was then that something finally clicked in your brain. "Ohh I get it. I'll give you some privacy if that's what you need." you nod in sympathy, storing your clothes in your locker. "I'll be waiting outside the hall when you're done." you tell the man before leaving.

It wasn't until you were gone that Zacharie leaned back against the lockers, pressing his hand against his chest as he felt his heart beating against his rib cage. He can't stop your curiosity, but he'd rather avoid having you see his true self.

_What if they don't like what they see?_

"A1, A2, A3..." you count the doors of the halls to find, leading the way while Zacharie trails behind you. "A4, A5... A5! It's this one." you tell your add on, who proceeds to open the door for you, catching you by surprise.

"You first, mon amie."

"My, my aren't you a gentleman?" you snicker at the gesture.

At first glance it's a normal sauna room, lacking anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but a cauldron with hot metal stones and a bucket of liquid beside it, other than that there's just benches on the walls for you to sit.

After you headed inside, Zach closed the door behind you to allow the both of you some privacy. Zacharie walked up to the liquid bucket, making sure it wasn't poison or something similar, finding it made out of plastic, or at least some variation of it.

"Is the room safe enough to use then? it would be cool to test it out, I've never been in a sauna before." you release a dreamy sigh.

"It looks safe to me." he agrees, pouring the liquid on the metal stones.

It didn't take long for the temperature to rise up along with the steam filling the room. You lay back against the bench, rejoicing in the change of temperature. Even blissfully closing your eyes to let the warmth relax your tense muscles.

_I wonder if Zacharie ever gets tired too? He does carry that backpack everywhere after all._

You peak an eye towards the masked man, feeling your face grow warm, but not because of the steam around you. Zacharie followed your lead by imitating you, leaning his head back on the bench in a relaxed position. At some point he popped the collar of his bathrobe apart, it wasn't too much but it did allow you to see more of the ex-merchant. You were able to tell the difference between them. Unlike the Batter, Zacharie seemed more relaxed, leaning himself a more on the chubby side, most noticeable by his tummy and thicker arms than Batter's slim build.

Someone once said that the most attractive part of a man is his naval. How the curve of the hips look slightly feminine in nature, dragging your eyes down the crevices of the naval, like an arrow pointing down to... well... the point of pleasure.

"(Y/n)"

You quickly raise your view towards the man in front of you.

"Huh?"

"Que travieso~ I said, is there something that catches your eye?" Zacharie's voice was low, leaning back with one hand while the other played with the rope tied around his waist.

Were you so engrossed that you didn't listen to him calling your name? then again you didn't mind hearing him say it... oh geez. There you go again with the daydreaming. But who could blame you? you haven't had a date in a while, too much schoolwork and games taking your time.

That made you wonder.

"Depends. You got anything eye-catching?"

Zacharie tossed his had back in a soft laughter, enjoying how your skin started to gain a dark hue. Either because of the heat of the sauna, or because of something else.

"Maybe i do, maybe i don't. Wouldn't you like to find out~?" he lowered his eyelids at you, just as much as he lowered his voice.

"I have a lot of interesting items in my backpack!"

You quirk an eyebrow at the man, but at the same time he pulled an amused smile from you. Looks like he's making you ask for it.

"I was referring to what's under that mask of yours."

Zacharie didn't reply right away, but he did land his eyes directly on you. That look. You know it's the one that speaks of mischief, but there was something else hidden behind them, something that sent a chill down your spine.

"You can reveal any part of me you want player, but the mask, it stays on." he purrs.

Boy, did that mess you up more than it should have.

Something just snapped inside you.

Zacharie has always been surrounded by mystery and intrigue. Not only because he was the only merchant in the game or for his familiarity of the 4th wall, but also because of that one book in Bismark Library that spoke of a masked hero. He's seems open to flirting and teasing, you can deal with that, but there's so much more of that you want to know about him. Especially with the mystery under his mask.

"Wait, so you'll willingly let me undress you but not see what's under-"

A light knock came from the door. Zacharie's attention shifted to the door, ignoring your question.

Looks like you're not getting answers anytime soon.

"Ah, there you (y/n)." Batter causally opened the sauna door, stepping inside but not without using his baseball cap to fan himself. "I believe i found something of worth for you."


	12. Blow off some Steam (Batter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even adventurers need to blow off some steam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the beginning of the Batter route! enjoy the artwork i made for this chapter 7w7  
> And for those of you who don't wanna romance Batter nor Zacharie, just skip to the next chapter, i'll be sure to drop some complementary Sucre art <3

Your eyes land on the Batter.

If there's a chance things could go wrong and you two end up ambushed, then there's no doubt Batter will be able to hold himself together with your guidance. Just like in the old days.

"Batter, looks like you're coming with me." you tell the athlete with a cheeky grin. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." you joke around.

The Batter didn't seem to mind, shrugging his shoulders. "Wasn't planning to."

"Okay Zacharie, me and Batter will pretend to act as normal clients while you scoot off and find something of worth. Think you can do that buddy?"

"For you mon amie, I'll climb literal mountains." the masked man chuckles with a wave of his hand. "Go on without me, I'll be sure to find something." he reassured you.

"Excellent."

"I'll leave (y/n) in your holy hands Batter. Take care of our dear puppeteer." Zacharie warns the Batter with a firm tone. Where Batter simply nods. Zacharie went to the bench and equipped his back pack once more, heading off to the opposite direction of the sauna.

You turn around to face your temporary undercover partner. Patting his shoulder.

"Let's go on with the show." you say to your add on, heading to your assigned locker while Batter went to his.

The athlete placed the key card in front of the locker, opening it without any trouble. Inside the metal locker is a pair of sandals, a towel and a bathrobe made of an unknown texture.

 _Most likely the same material as puppeteer's clothes._ He thought.

Batter turned around to ask you what was the name of said materials until the question got stuck in his throat, seeing you are already a step ahead of him by removing half of your clothing. You were a little oblivious to the fact Batter kept staring at you, it wasn't until you were in your underwear when you finally noticed him.

"Something wrong?" you ask with a hint of concern in your voice, tilting your head to the side as you fold your clothing.

"Uhh... No, nothing at all." Batter lightly shook his head to the sides.

"You're still in your uniform." you notice. Nodding towards his own clothing, an amusing smile crossing on your lips. "Don't tell me you've been wearing them for so long that they're glued to your skin." you giggle at the thought.

"I can remove my clothes."

Batter frowns, eyeing his jersey shirt. Forgetting the last time he ever changed his outfit, mainly when he equips new armor but that felt like ages ago.

"You sure?" you ask all of a sudden, too close than Batter anticipated.

The man jumped to his feet, unaware on how you approached him so quickly. At some point you slipped on the bath robe, it was still parted lightly enough for him to catch a glimpse of your chest, not to mention his taller height made it so he had a distinctive view.

"Do you need any help?" you offer, your eyes trailing down his uniform.

The Batter swallowed, his mind going to places he never thought he would dwell into. He regained his composure one way or another, mainly by extending both hands to cover your chest properly much to your confusion.

"I can handle this by myself." the Batter grumbled, yet he couldn't look at you in the eye.

It was then that something finally clicked in your brain. "Ohh I get it. I'll give you some privacy if that's what you need." you nod in sympathy, storing your clothes in your locker. "I'll be waiting outside the hall when you're done." you tell the man before leaving.

It wasn't until you were gone that Batter finally released the air in his lungs, unable to realize he was holding his breath this entire time.

_What is going on with me?_

"A1, A2, A3..." you count the doors of the halls to find, leading the way while Batter trails behind you. "A4, A5... A5! It's this one." you tell your add on, who proceeds to open the door for you, catching you by surprise.

"My, my aren't you a gentleman?" you snicker at the gesture.

But before you could take a step inside Batter was the first to peak his head in the room, taking in the details of the room to make sure there was nothing suspicious around.

"Can't be too careful, this could be a trap after all." The batter explains.

At first glance it's a normal sauna room, lacking anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but a cauldron with hot metal stones and a bucket of liquid beside it, other than that there's just benches on the walls for you to sit.

"It's safe, you came come inside now." Batter side-stepped, allowing you to walk inside the private sauna room as he close the door behind you.

"You sure are paranoid." you noted, taking a seat at the bench.

"I'd prefer to call it being cautious."

Batter walked up to the liquid bucket, making sure it wasn't poison or something similar, finding it made out of plastic, or at least some variation of it.

"Is the room safe enough to use then? it would be cool to test it out, I've never been in a sauna before." you release a dreamy sigh.

The Batter checked under the benches, nodding once the room is cleared out.

"It's safe." he agrees, prompting to sit across from you.

Once he gave you the green light, your hands gingerly went for the liquid in the bucket, dozing it over the hot metal stone, filling the room with steam.

You lay back against the bench, rejoicing in the change of temperature. Even closing your eyes to let the warmth relax your tense muscles.

I wonder if Batter ever gets tired too?

You peak an eye towards the athlete, feeling your face grow warm, but not because of the steam around you. Batter was no longer fidgeting, instead imitating you by leaning back on the bench in a relaxed position. At some point he causally slid the top part of his bathrobe open, showing just how athletic his body is.

Someone once said that the most attractive part of a man is his naval. How the curve of the hips look slightly feminine in nature, dragging your eyes down the crevices of the navel, like an arrow pointing down to... well... the point of pleasure.

"(Y/n)"

You quickly raise your view towards the man in front of you.

"Huh?"

"I said stop staring so much. You're distracting me from the mission." Batter leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

Were you so engrossed that you didn't listen to him calling your name? then again you didn't mind hearing him say it... oh geez. There you go again with the daydreaming. But who could blame you? you haven't had a date in a while, too much schoolwork and games taking your time.

That made you wonder.

"Oh really?" you tease. "Didn't know mister batter doesn't like the attention on himself."

You noticed the way he avoided looking at you, possibly because of a faint color spreading on his face. Or is it because of the sauna's heat?

"If the situation were different i wouldn't mind. But we're on a mission now."

His response gained a raised eyebrow from you.

"Ohoho~ what kind of situation would it be proper then?"

Batter didn't reply right away, but he did direct his eyes on you. That look. You know it's the one where he acts like the strict dad of the group, but there was something else hidden behind them, something that sent a chill down your spine.

"One where you can't talk back in that cocky tone of yours." he growls, baring his canine teeth at you.

Boy, did that mess with you more than it should have.

Something just snapped inside you.

There's so much more of that you want to uncover from Batter. He always carries himself as a divine figure, unable to be tainted like the pure being he is, so catching a glimpse of something so foreign on him was as rare as finding a 4 leafed clover. But just as sudden as it appeared, it disappeared just as quick. Leaving Batter to return to his usual strict nature, immediately composing himself as if you didn't saw the unfiltered hunger in his eyes.

"What do you mean-?" looks like you're not getting answers anytime soon.

A light knock came from the door. Batter's reaction was immediate, sitting up and stiffening his muscles if an intruder came in.

"Geez, is it hot in here or is it just me?" the ex-merchant chuckles. Zacharie peeks his head inside the sauna, his eyes smiling at the sight of you two. You could even hear the Batter's exasperated sigh. "Anyway, you guys won't believe what i just found!"


	13. Sense of Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even with a map, it's hard to get an idea on where to go.

"A map?" you unfold the object in your hands. It's synthetic qualities felt rough and unfamiliar against your skin, but it was by no means uncomfortable. 

You extended the map over one of the benches, having a good view of the outline of the bathhouse. Apparently, it's larger than you expected, the first floors are dedicated to spa and sauna properties, pools, but the lower floors take to an underground water canal system, most likely connected to the water park the receptionist elsen talked about.

"This is insane, look at all these sections we can explore!" you admire the bathhouse architecture in both awe and fear.

"It's gonna take us a while to search each nook and cranny," Batter hums thoughtfully. "Where do we start?"

"I just hope it isn't another maze." you dread, rubbing a hand over your eyes after remembering a specific mall.

Zacharie took in the details of the map, analyzing each passageway, corridor, and canal. His eyes growing wide at a specific room, landing a finger on the location. "This room is the only place that lacks any description, maybe they're hiding something valuable?" 

"You're right." You turn the map in your direction to look at the room Zach mentioned. "Boys, we have our first destination."

"Or maybe it could be a dead-end..." Batter murmurs.

Your team went back to the locker rooms to recover your normal equipment, wearing the bathrobes over them to go unnoticed.

There's an odd feeling you can't shake about the bath house's interior. It feels reminiscent of a place you've been before, like visiting a place you've never been before but you've seen it in your dreams. Until you wake up and forget about what you dreamed about.

Whatever it was, it was giving you an uncanny sensation.

Your focused your view on your two add ons.

"Hey batter, can we talk for a second?" you pull in the athlete to the side, away from Zach's earshot.

"Of course puppeteer, what seems to be the problem?" he asks.

"Although the three of us have been traveling for a short time, I've noticed you've been acting a bit... rough on Zacharie lately." 

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for example, whenever he tries to help you always seem to push him down," you explain. "I get you're not used to having someone else in our party but we're a team now, we have to work together and that includes getting along."

Batter stayed quiet, his mouth in a straight line while he turned his head to look at Zacharie, contently studying the map.

"We don't know anything about him, that's untrustworthy enough to me." The batter tries to justify.

You shook your head in disapproval. "Oh please, you weren't exactly an open book when we first met. All I knew was your name and your goal." you eye him up and down.

"That's true," Batter sighs in defeat. "I didn't know anything about you too, yet that first moment we met I knew I could trust you."

That felt surprisingly heartwarming.

"Can't you do the same for Zacharie?" 

"He hasn't done anything to prove himself trustworthy... to me at least."

"Batter," you pinch the bridge of your nose. "Back then he gave us stuff we needed. Jokers, meat, weapons, armor..." you mention a few in an exasperated tone. "We wouldn't have made it far in our journey without him."

"Then I guess you remember what we did when we were far enough?" Batter told you in a hushed tone. "The elsen may not remember what happened back then, but we do and so does Zacharie, who's not to say he holds a grudge for what happened to Sucre?" 

You looked away shamefully, remembering how much you wanted to get that Ashley bat. If you've known the 'in-game' consequences would follow you today, well... You would have listened to the game over screen song.

"He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to hold a grudge." you defend.

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

Batter kept quiet once more.

"You two done? We have a lot of terrain to cover." Zacharie calls out, tucking the map inside his backpack.

"Yeah we're done here for now," you shot Batter a quick glance. 

You definitely weren't done with him though.

* * *

Although the grotesque dust bunnies and rabbit kings were terrifying, they were no match for the most fearsome obstacle you have ever faced in a videogame.

"Out of all the puzzles, why did it have to be maze??" you groan.

Batter took the lead as usual, with you sandwiched in the middle and Zacharie in the back. The merchant held the map in his hands, trying to make sense of it even though it didn't exactly show the layout of the maze. 

The map guided the three of you to a flight of stairs that lead to the lower levels of the bathhouse, a maze of water canals, and tubes, it almost looked like a sewer, fortunately, it didn't smell like one. 

"Hey!" a voice called out.

The three of you froze on the spot.

An elsen with a construction hat caught sight of your party, rushing up to you.

"Are you lost? The sauna is upstairs." the elsen smiled kindly.

"We're not lost." Batter interjects.

Zacharie hid the map behind his back.

"We're here to uh... solve the pest problem... Yeah! get rid of those dust bunnies and such," you said casually.

The elsen scratched the top of his head under his hat, before smiling once more.

"Ah, we don't have an issue with pests. Don't worry the exterminators should handle that problem." The elsen reassures kindly. "But you're our guests, and if our guests want to explore the underground plumbing system then enjoy yourselves!" the worker even tossed keys in your direction. "Here, have my copy of spares keys, it should make navigation better." 

And with that the elsen merrily made his way back, leaving you dumbfounded.

"Huh, looks like today is our lucky day." Zacharie laughs contently.

"And to think I was about to knock him unconscious." Batter nods.

"C'mon, you know what's the first room I want to check out?" you eagerly ask your add ons.

"I think I have a fair idea." Zacharie chuckles, he held the map in his hands as he motioned for the two of you to follow him.

That mysterious room marked on the map has always piqued your interest, finding out what's inside was the first thing you wanted to do.


	14. Finding Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is your purpose in this world? Also, we get to see Zacharie in battle.

You could barely contain your excitement, the keys shaking in your hands as you try to unlock the door.

There was a small 'click' and you carefully push the door forward.

The room is dark and menacing, but once you flicker the light switch it becomes painfully average, just like a normal storage closet for brooms and other cleaning products. The enthusiasm left your body in a single sigh, kicking an empty bucket.

"This blows! there's nothing here," you said upset. "The workers are happy, the enemies we fought are just pests, secret rooms are empty, what if there's nothing wrong in this place for us to fix?" you turn back to your add ons, searching for an answer.

"We all have a purpose (y/n), whenever some figure it out quicker than others." Batter explains, trying to comfort you in his own way.

"He's right you know. Maybe there's a deeper reason to all this?" Zacharie tried to motivate you as well.

"I guess so, I mean, you guys already come with purpose as my add ons but I have yet to find my place in this weird-ass world," you stood to your feet. "Come on, let's keep moving."

Before you could turn around and walk through the exit, a single elsen worker was blocking the exit. He stood completely still, due to the odd lighting it made it difficult to see his expression.

"Oh hey, sorry for barging in your closet. But then again you gave us keys so..." you said nonchalantly.

The elsen took a single step forward.

"You're not supposed to be here yet-" he mumbles softly.

"I uh, what?" you ask.

"92825718230002404"

The elsen's voice grew louder, but his speech was nothing but distorted gibberish, something akin to TV static. You didn't move from your spot, believing that maybe this elsen has a number puzzle for you, but his eerie presence kept your add ons tense and on guard.  
When the elsen stepped into the light you could see how disfigured his face is, covered in static and deform like a bugged character model in a Ubisoft  
game.

Č̡̛͎̟̟͍̑͑̾̇͐̈͐͑͋̕̚͝o̸̻̦̠̼̩͎̻͗͒̾͑̽̚d̷̡̞͔͓̙̈̐͛̇̌̕͝e̸̛̪̝̜̞̎̓̏̓̌́͌̔͗̈́̈́̾̌͝ ̵̨̗͈̍͑̾̈̉n̵̨̛̪̜̖̼̖̲̤̝̗̓̋̊̄͜͠o̸̧̡̢͙̣͇̩̥̼͙̪͛̉̿̄͆̐͌͝ͅẗ̵̢̡̧̗͙̱̺͍̖͕́̑̌̋͘ ̸̧̢̛̺̫̳͚̥̻͈̭͔͙̠̯͔̦͌̃̈́̓̒̒̒̽̈́̿̀͘̕͜͝f̵̨̠̈́o̵̠͛̓̐͌̈̄̎͂̆͑͘͝ṵ̸̢̖̳̤̥͇͖̓̇̈́̍̍̑͝n̷̯̳̂̇̋̈͘͘d̸̢̧̪͕̬͈̜͖̪͖͈̿

It screeched painfully loud at you. Immediately backing off to join your add ons, covering your ears due to the pain the high frequency caused you. The battle theme rang in your head as the distorted elsen dragged the three of you into battle, the options hovering in front of you.

The run button isn't an option.

"Batter, what does your wide-angle say about this one?"

The Batter performs his competence, giving you a nod.

 **Glitched Elsen (x1)**  
Error found in the game's code.  
HP: ??? CP: ??  
No known weaknesses.

The glitching elsen screeched once more, the attack landing on Batter. The athlete grew furious, attempting to swing at the elsen with his bat only to miss every shot and even getting hurt in the process. You ran up to the Batter, holding him back the best you could. You didn't carry any molch meat to remove negative status effects, so you're left to wait out Batter's furious effect .

"Shit! Zacharie the Batter is hitting the bench, you'll be taking the lead for now!" you cry out to the masked man.

"You can count on me player, I'll have his health depleting in no time." Zacharie pulled out his sword, recognizing it as the same sword from your room.

While you tried to hold Batter with one hand, you used the other to look at his competences, eyes growing wide at the variety of attacks he has at his disposal. They aren't many, but it was more than the ones he had previously. The furious athlete slipped from your hands, forcing you to grab him with both arms.

"I leave it in your hands for now." you gave Zach the heads up. Placing him on auto.

The masked man felt his joints loosen up, rolling his neck with a pop as he stood in position. It's the opponent's turn to move, the glitch took the opportunity to perform a basic swipe with its claws but Zach dodges it by crouching below him, giving his legs a quick swipe.

"Short stack."

He stood back up to cover his ears, having the glitch screeching at him just like before but not enough to induce fury. The glitch tried stomping in Zacharie but he's too slow, easily predicting his moves and having the young man roll out of the way. Another distorted screech was sent his way, barely covering his ears on time.

"Let's get rid of that annoying ability of yours for a moment," Zacharie skillfully twirled the sword in his hand, positioning the blade vertically before taking a good slash at the glitch. "Cut off."

The glitch opens his mouth to screech once more, but not a single noise came from him. If his facial features were visible, you know he would look shocked.

You spare the opponent a quick glance, noticing how its opacity was becoming more and more transparent. But as the enemy grew weaker, you noticed how Zacharie's competence was lowering too. "Zach, watch your cp!" you exclaim, keeping your arms wrapped around Batter's torso. The athlete was struggling in your hold, cursing up a storm that would put any sailor to shame.

Although this isn't the time. You found it hilarious how Batter's curses came out in windings text symbols.

"Relax (y/n) I got this in the bag, in fact, we can play a gamble," Zacharie spoke calmly while the glitch walked around him. "If I finish this guy off after this attack you have to wear my shirt for the rest of the bathhouse."

"And what if you don't?"

"Then I'll show you what I have under my mask."

You grew excited at the aspect of knowing how he looks like, but the thought of having to wear his shirt felt a little odd and even embarrassing, though you would be lying to yourself if you didn't admit he has a cute taste in clothing.

"Fine, it's a deal!"

The corners of Zacharie's eyes raised a bit, evidence of a smile.

The glitch stopped walking around Zacharie and lunged forward.

"Quadrille."

His performance is quick and clean, delivering an array of four stabs with the tip of his blade in the center of the glitch elsen's body, keeping him immobile and on the spot. 

"Save the others..." the elsen whispers his last words. Disappearing as he faded away out of existence.

Memories of the burnt came flowing back. The victory left a bittersweet flavor in your mouth, trying to distract yourself from the implications. But if there are more glitch out Elsen's out there, then you'll make it your purpose to help them out.

Batter's fury died down along with the glitch, becoming relaxed in your hold. The athlete lowered his baseball hat to cover his face. "That was embarrassing."

You removed your arms from the young man with a light-hearted laugh, patting his back in reassurance. "I thought you would be foaming at the mouth any second." you laugh.

Zacharie came up to the two of you, securing his sword in its sheath.

"Zacharie! You were amazing out there!" you compliment the young man. "And here I thought you were the pack mule of the group. Looks like you have quite the trick up your sleeves." you playfully bump his shoulder.

"It's the least I could do since your hands were, full." Zach's eyes landed on the Batter.

The athlete didn't respond, just avoiding his glance. "You did great handling the situation Zacharie, you have shown yourself dependable in dire situations."

"Enough for you to trust him~?" you nudge an elbow at Batter.

The man nods sliently.

"That's good enough for me," Zacharie says nonchalantly with a shrug. "Speaking of sleeves, player I believe we have a deal."

You groan. "Fine, let me have it." you extend an arm.

Zacharie lowered his backpack, pulling out a spare t-shirt of his. You order the both of your add ons to turn around, changing your outfit and slipping on Zach's merch.

"Huh, this isn't so bad," you fold out the wrinkles on the shirt. "Why did you want me to wear this anyway?" you ask.

"Well, if everyone sees the prominent protagonist of this world carry my merch I'm sure it will bring in lots of costumers," Zach replied with a sly eye, rubbing his hands together.

"Your sales tactics are bizarre Zacharie," you shook your head with a smile.

"Well that, and also because I like seeing you wear my clothes," he admits.

Batter rolled his eyes while you tease him gently. "Oh come on Batter, no need to get jealous. In fact, you can give me your pants to complete my fly outfit."

"I'm not giving you my pants!" Batter exclaims. He ponders for a second, removing his baseball cap and placing it gingerly on your head. "There, happy?"

You smile at the two of them, beaming with joy. "I am actually~"

Your attention went back to Zacharie. "So, you name your competences after poker and gambling?"

The masked man nods. "To be a master in a game of poker you need a keen eye and bucket of confidence."

"Sums you up pretty easily."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a quick rundown of Zacharie's competences, game wise I don't know if they are effective, but they fit the narrative I'm going for. The names are inspired by gambling and other card games. 
> 
> Cut off: Vertical slash, 50% chance of keeping the opponent from using their previous move for 3 turns.
> 
> Short Stack: Slash to the lower parts of the body, induces slowness.
> 
> Quadrille: A flurry of four stabs with the tip of the sword. 
> 
> Royal Flush: Gives Zacharie the "Luck" status effect which doubles his attacks for 5 turns. If your team has the same number of hp/cp Zacharie's attacks are tripled.(Costs alot of CP, he'll gain it later on as he levels up)


	15. Blueprints

The aftermath left behind by the glitched elsen changed many aspects in the room. The most noticeable ones being, floor tiles out of place, steam tubes bent in odd shapes and random doors spawning all over the walls but thry don't lead to anywhere. Almost as if they were taunting your lack of an exit, considering a stack of glitching crates were now blocking the only functionable doorway. 

Basically locking the three of you inside the closet.

"This is strange, very strange, then again it almost feels like a new puzzle" you noted, taking a few steps back.

"You think so? To me it looks like an unintentional mishap." Zach adds. 

You and your add on's split up to find a way out, or at least investigate what's usable and what isn't. 

"Look over here!" Batter gained your attention towards a portion of the room. 

Batter points at a once solid wall, which is currently splattered by a blotch of static-like particles, identical to the ones on the glitched elsen's face.

"There's something sticking from the wall," The batter tries to dig his hand inside the static mess, only to immediately pull back his hand with a pained hiss. 

"Batter!" you worryingly made your way to the athlete.

"I'm fine," he reassured you. "It felt like a static shock." the man rubbed the skin on his hand. 

You pressed your lips together in thought, an idea striking inside your head. "Give me your bat,"

The Batter followed your order, handing you his bat and using the item to poke the glitching hole until the object fell from the wall.

"Bingo," you grin, picking up the item without any trouble. 

From the corner of your eye you noticed the Batter tense up, fearing you'll get hurt like him, but quickly dismissed it once he saw you're fine. 

"What is it?" Zach asks curiously. 

"It's a laptop," you turn the object in your hands to give it a good view. Finding every dent, scratch and sticker in place. "But it's not any laptop, It's the one I have in my house."

_If that's the case, what's it doing all the way here?_

You opened the lid, powering up the device from hibernation mode, finding the screen already filled with green text against a dark background. There was something familiar in the screen however.

You took your time with the device. Taking a seat and crossing your legs on the floor.

Neither Batter nor Zacharie interrupted you, unwilling to interrupt your thinking process.

"Aha!" you snap your fingers together. "No wonder this looks familiar."

"What did you find?" Batter inquires, standing and crouching behind you. 

"This is coding used to make video games. All the commands and controls are here but it's messy and cluttered up, it's like a newbie made it. Heh just like me in my first years," you shook your head. "No wonder this place is buggy and glitches out, and here I thought I was going mad."

You raise a finger to your chin, noticing how the code shares the room's characteristics, describing the same color, size and layout.

_I wonder..._

You bog inside your memory for a moment, trying to remember a specific command before typing away on the laptop, making the text less cluttered and more efficient by erasing any unnecessary content. Your add on's observed in amazement how the room changed again, reverting back to its old shape. Easily figuring out its all your doing.

"Outstanding~" Zacharie clapped his hands together.

"Well done puppeteer." Batter added his two cents.

You gave a good look at your surroundings, no longer seeing all the glitches that plagued the room and the exit.

"Huh, didn't know it would work... I mean, yeah! that should do it." you close the laptop, satisfied with the results.

"How joyous, I bet we can cheat through this world with your computer knowledge in no time!" Zacharie rubbed his hands together.

Batter is quick to bump in the conversation. "No Zacharie, cheating is bad. We'll use (y/n) talents for the glitch elsens, isn't that right?" the athlete turns at you expectantly.

You however, just kept your eyes locked to the ground, sheepishly rubbing your shoulder. 

"About that... You see, I'm pretty forgetful when it comes to this coding stuff, all I memorized was the basics. But if I wanna make any big changes, I'm gonna need my class notes from my notebook." your face went hot with embarrassment, noticeable by the dark gray hues on your face.

"Don't worry, we'll just take you back to your room. What do you say?" Zacharie pats your shoulder. 

"Really? I mean, that's a good idea, I just didn't want to bother you guys with all the backtracking," you shook off your embarrassment.

"It's no issue, after all you could use some rest as well." Batter agrees with Zacharie's idea. 

"Alrighty then. Let's get out of these sewers first. Zacharie, lead the way." you nod towards the masked man. 

Zach pulled out the map from within his backpack, giving it a quick view before tracing a path with his finger.

"There's an exit on the back of the building that will lead us to the docks, it's a few rooms from here." Zacharie informed you.

"Excellent, let's head out team!" you lead the way.

While the three of you walked out of the closet, you handed Zacharie your laptop for safe keeping in his backpack. However, you couldn't help but keep wondering to yourself.

"Whats the matter puppeteer?" The Batter asks.

"A credit for your thoughts?" the masked man chuckles.

You pout your lips in thought before speaking. 

"I was just wondering. If this is a game, then who created its messy coding?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that much of a chapter regarding character interactions, but it does add some plot elements. Sorry for not updating in a while, but I'm glad to see new people here are showing interest.
> 
> Hello~ I'll make sure updates become more frequent nvn


	16. Buying Items

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You gotta spend the credits on something.

The three of you transported back to the Bathing Room zone after an unsuccessful search through your bedroom. So many notebooks on your desk but none of them was the specific one you're looking for.

You slump with each step you take, just feeling down in the weather.

Zacharie and Batter shared a glance before returning their attention to you.

"It's not your fault puppeteer, everyone grows forgetful sometimes." Zacharie tries to reassure you, patting your back from your left.

"Indeed, we can continue on without your more advanced coding techniques." Batter adds from your right. Only serving to bring a sadden groan from you. Because of it, Zacharie shot Batter a glare from behind your back.

Batter shrugs, unsure how to work in this kind of situation.

"And here I thought I could provide a bonus to the team, but nooo I left my notebook in my work studio before turning my department upside down. It could be anywhere in this world by now." you lament.

Zacharie opened the door to the Bath House for you, walking inside just to be greeted by the receptionist elsen again.

"Ah, welcome back. I see you came back for more of our attractions?"

Zacharie made a so, so hand gesture while Batter responds instead. "Somewhat. By any chance have you found a notebook around here or something?" Batter asks.

"A notebook?" the elsen raises a hand to his chin. "I'm afraid not, but we did receive new machinery from the Employment factory just a while ago, it dispenses many useful items. I suggest giving it a go, who knows? you might find something of worth." the elsen points at the vending machine at the corner of the room.

Now that's something new.

Zacharie was the first to approach this machine, immediately reacting with shock and surprise.  
"This machine sells you items-!" Zach gasps, studying it with a judgmental eye. "And this machine, is it limited to this reception area or can you access it from different locations?" Zacharie asks the Elsen.

"It's a fairly recent device, it was just redistributed to many sections of the bathhouse and even other zones from what I heard of." the elsen nods.

Zacharie shakes his head as he continues to complain.

"So this is my replacement huh? A soulless machine without any charisma that you mindless spend on with its many counterparts," Zacharie rests his hands on his hips, a sigh of defeat leaving his mask. "It's both maliciously offensive and a genius strategy, well-done machine, well done." Zach claps sarcastically.

Batter lowers his hat as he attempts to hold back a chuckle.

The promise of new items intrigues you, drawing you towards the vending machine.

"What kind of stuff does it have?" you meekly ask from behind Zacharie.

Zacharie places his finger on the list, reading each item's name out loud in order. "Let's see, luck tickets, fortune tickets, silver flesh..."

You read a few articles yourself, surprised to recognize one of them. "Batter look, there's a jersey upgrade available for you," you call the athlete.

The Batter made his way to the vending machine, eager to upgrade his equipment.

Zacharie pulls some credits from his backpack, counting the currency in his hand before handing an equal amount to both you and the Batter.

Batter used his money to buy gear for himself, like a jersey shirt and a new baseball bat.  
How did a baseball fit inside the vending machine? 

You'd rather not question the logic behind it. 

Zacharie sold a few extra luck tickets to the vending machine, planing to use the bonus amount to buy silver flesh and fortune tickets until something caught his eye. 

At first, you thought the vending machine sold the standard items from the previous game, but much to your surprise there were new additions. While Batter's defensive and offensive gear consists of jersey shirts and baseball bats, the new gear for Zacharie is masks and swords.

Zacharie hums in interest, depositing the credits in the machine before it dropped the new mask. "Hmm," he holds the item in his hands, testing its durability. The mask is white, but it has smudges of red and orange on it, looking oddly similar to kitsune masks. It feels out of place, but it also ties in with the semi-oriental feel the bathhouse is going for.

"It looks resistant, and the quality isn't half bad, I guess I can keep it around for a while." Zach ties the new mask over his toad one.

"It looks cool," you comment. "I just find it weird..."

"The design?" Zacharie inquires.

"No, no the design is fine because I made it. That's what I mean, it's oddly similar to an idea I originally wrote and sketched down in my personal notes."

"So you think someone stole your notes?"

"I don't know, maybe?" you lightly shake your head, counting your own amount of credits. "I'm sure other people came up with similar ideas," you shrug.

You huff. The list didn't include any items you could use, from consumables to protective and offensive gear. However, there was one thing that stood out from the rest.

"Notebook page 1?" you read the description in confusion.

Zacharie and Batter paused from testing their new weapons to look at your reaction.  
You type the numbers according to the desired object, dropping it lightly as you held it in your hand.

"This..." you check the item in disbelief. "This is a page from my notebook, it has my handwriting and everything!" you flip the single page, finding a piece of coding you could use.

Looks like this vending machine does have something valuable to you.


	17. Pedalo Ride

"Can you remind me again why we're here?" Batter asks in a grumpy mood.

You don't blame him, being cramped together in a pedalo would make anyone turn into a sour puss.

"We're looking for collectibles~" you chime. "If there's only one notebook page per vending machine, then that means the rest are hidden."

The swan-shaped pedalo floated its way down the smooth plastic currents, passing by a few elsen enjoying the oddly oriental-themed water park (or would it be a plastic park? Doesn't have the same ring to it) , either resting on a bench or happily interacting with each other.

Now that you think about, maybe having the Spirited Away movie in your files wasn't a bad idea.

Batter tried to adjust himself on the seat, struggling to find a position where Zacharie's sheathed sword isn't poking him in the ribs.

"This blows," Batter grunts.

You offer him an apologetic smile.

"I have an idea," you suggest, crawling on top of the pedalo head. "There ya go, now it feels less crammed right?" you smile.

"Puppeteer get down from there, you could get hurt." Batter waves a finger at you.

"Nah, I have a good view from here," you stick your tongue out.

During your tomfoolery, you failed to notice how the pedalo picked up speed with the currents making a steep dive into a tunnel. There's a reason why you're not supposed to surpass the height limit. The tunnel entrance smacks you on the back of your head, knocking you off the pedalo. 

"(y/n)!" Zacharie and Batter shout in unison, but they couldn't stop the pedalo from its intended course. Vanishing in the dark, and leaving you floating in the artificial river.

But not all is lost, your unconscious body was recovered by a bypassing stranger holding a lantern. They pulled you out of the river and laid you on a sidewalk inside the tunnel, even giving you mouth to mouth in case you swallowed some liquid.

You jolt awake, coughing as you tried to recover your breath.

"Where am I?"

"Oh you're in the pedalo tunnels," a sing-song voice informs you. "Glad you didn't drown, that would've been embarrassing since the river isn't that deep tee hee~" they giggle.

The tunnel is dark, only illuminated by the single lantern the stranger holds. Even if you can't see their face, you have an eerie feeling that they talk with a smile on their face.

"That means... You saved me?"

"That's right~" the stranger giggles.

"Thanks for that, but who are you?" you ask, standing on your feet and getting closer to the stranger.

Their hand is stretched out in a way the lamp only illuminated you, however the closer you leaned towards them the more the light shines on the stranger's body. Seeing short hair, dark lipstick, a feminine waist, and a charming smile attached to it.

"I'm just a gal who loves to see people pass by in pedalos, you can call me Sugar~" she giggles once more.

You gasp at the reveal, taking a step back.

"What's the matter? It looks like you've seen a ghost, tee hee~" Sugar smiles at you.

Your eye twitches slightly, giving her a nervous smile. "Oh you have no idea," you shake your head.

Sugar's smile falls into a straight line. Her hair bangs didn't let you see her eyes but you knew she's staring at you, causing you to squirm in your spot. She takes a step closer, edging you to take a few steps backward until your body meets with the wall. Sugar remains quiet, placing her hand on the wall beside your hand, blocking your escape route.

"That shirt," she eyes your choice of clothing, raising the lantern to your chest. "Where did you get it from?" her tone is deep and menacing.

If her presence wasn't scary enough, then her mood going a full 180° certainly is terrifying.

"I... I lost a bet with Zacharie and he made me wear it. I didn't hurt him if that's what you're thinking, I swear!" you stutter nervously, but Sugar doesn't respond. "...Do you know who I am?" you ask cautiously.

The young woman tilts her head to the side.

"I do..." she responds in a serious tone.

You immediately tense up. Feeling dread invade your stomach.

 _'That's it, this place is my grave'_ , you thought.

"You look like someone clumsy enough to fall off their pedalo~" she boops your nose, breaking the tense atmosphere. And yet, the building anticipation made you flinch at the harmless gesture.

"Other than that, I don't know who you are clumsy stranger." She shrugs.

You sigh in relief.

"Any friend of Zacharie's is my friend too, tee hee~" Sugar removes her hand from the wall, giving you some space. "Come' on the exit is this way~"

Sugar leads the way, providing an easy walk thanks to her lantern.

Although she's been rather nice to you up to this point, you couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved and awkward with her. You killed her. Sure she's alive and well in this world, but the guilt doesn't leave you alone.

"Sugar, I have something to confess," but she interrupts you before you can start.

"Shhh, stay back clumsy," Sugar keeps you at an arms distance from the river.

You couldn't understand why until the liquid started bubbling, with three new enemies emerging from it.

"The hell-?" you step back.

"They're sludge spiders. Looks like we're in for fight tee hee~" Sugar giggles, stuffing her hands inside her jacket before pulling out small little puppets tied to her fingers. "Get ready clumsy,"

"Wait what? But my add ons aren't here...!"

<hr>

Batter and Zacharie panicked the moment you fell in the river. Every time they tried to get off the pedalo ride they were interrupted by an annoying text box that prevented them to move.

**"Please keep hands and feet inside the ride, thank you."**

They didn't get a chance to jump off until they reached the end of the ride. The athlete was the first to jump off, recklessly heading straight for the tunnel.

"Batter wait," Zacharie tugs the Batter from his sleeve.

"What are you doing? We need to fetch them as soon as possible,"

"I know but it's pitch dark in there, we need something to shine our way through. Otherwise we'll be as useful as blind cows,"

"We'll just walk in a straight line, simple enough," Batter tried to tug away from Zacharie's hold.

"Or we'll fall and get carried away by the currents,"

"But if we don't hurry up they might get attacked by something even worse!" Batter raises his voice. "We don't know what happens if (y/n)'s health bar goes down... We already know normal items don't work on them, so if something happens to them..." 

"I understand, in fact I think I'm the only person here who can relate with you. But if we're out of commission or too weak by the time we reach the player, then there's no way the three of us can make it out." Zacharie manages to reason with the Batter. 

He's worried about your safety too, but that doesn't mean they can act recklessly. 

Batter calmed down a little, but he's still on edge. "Where can we find a lantern? It's not like someone will just give one to us."

Zach taps his kitsune mask in thought, eyes smiling at a nearby pedalo worker elsen. 

"Or maybe they will."

<hr>

Sugar is absolutely extraordinary. 

She tanks hits like a walking fortress, and her hands puppets give her advantages to attack more than once. But her fighting moves are the sauce on the steak, she combines dancing with her kicks, delivering both fatal but graceful attacks. 

The only issue is that the waves of spiders don't stop coming. 

"Don't be shy clumsy, join in on the fun. I could use an extra pair of hands tee hee~" Sugar chimes as her foot one shots a spider. 

"Oh me? I don't really know how to fight..."

"Oh come'on, don't be that way. I can tell you have a moveset~" 

Three sludge spiders crawl from the river, heading straight for you. 

"I'm being serious, I can't attack nor use health items," you back away fearfully. One of the spiders attempts to snap a bite out of you, but you kick it before it could try. That didn't stop it from scratching you though. You yelp, grabbing Sugar's attention. 

The spider saw an opening and took the opportunity to each strike at you in unison, dropping your health in half. 

"Oh no you don't-" Sugar takes a swipe at the two spiders. 

She held you right behind her, realizing you're probably on a low level or something. The single spider wasn't willing to give up until it took a bite of you, heading straight to you until Sugar blocked it by using her own arm. She winces slightly, but her stance doesn't waver. 

"Is that all you got~!?" Sugar challenges, facing the final wave of sludge spiders alone. 

You stare at her in awe, however you notice one of her puppets got knocked out. 

What if-? 

You dig a hand inside your inventory, cursing to yourself that you didn't check earlier. 

An eye, a notebook page and a single luck ticket. You use the eye to check Sugar's status, she's not one of your add on so you can access her info manually. You skipped through her base information because there was two things that alarmed you immediately. 

**Status Effect:** Poisoned

"Sugar, you're on 1/4 on your health!" you panicked. "Take this luck ticket and let's get out of here," you beg, but the dancer refuses to back down from the stage. 

"Not in a million years~" 

You used the luck ticket on Sugar, but you can tell the poison is affecting her. Her once powerful stance now faltering, her attacks didn't hit as strong but her hand puppets kept delivering the best they could. Sugar pants in exhaustion, slipping on her next kick and missing it completely, if it wasn't for the critical hit with the finger puppets, you don't know if she'd still be standing. 

"Sugar hold still," you kneel beside her. "Don't move, maybe that can slow down the poison," 

Sugar shakes her head, her charming smile still intact. 

"I'm fine clumsy, let's go take you to your friends they're probably worried for you," Sugar attempts to stand up but falls halfway through.

"They can wait, right not you're my priority," you insist, keeping your hands on her shoulders. "Why did you take that bite for me? We could've run off."

"They would have chased us, they're fast swimmers," Sugar states. "Besides, I would hate to see Zacharie loose a dear friend~"

Something about that sentence stabbed through you. Maybe because you've already seen him loose her? 

You're heartbroken at seeing her like this. Although you two just met, she still kept you safe just because you're Zacharie's friend. But the fact you sent Batter to kill her without her knowledge was sickening you with guilt. Zacharie might be chill about it, but you had no idea how Sugar would react if she knew you're also responsible for her death. If her brutal fight demonstrated anything, it's that you should be afraid of her.

"Sugar, I'm so sorry this happened," You lament. "It's my fault..."

"You didn't do anything clumsy~" she gives you a gentle smile.

"It is, I'm the one who sent Batter after you. All because I wanted a stupid bonus item... if I had known you guys... I wouldn't have..." you start to hiccup, tears falling down your face.

"What are you talking about clumsy, who's the Batter?" Sugar tilts her head to the side.

You eye the woman in disbelief. "You... you don't know what happen?" you raise a hand to your mouth with a gasp. "Just like the elsen..."

A pair of footsteps echo from beyond the tunnel, it sounds like running.

"(Y/N)! there you are," Zacharie's voice bounces off the tunnel walls, joined by another light source. 

"Zach! Batter!" you scramble to your feet, rushing towards the masked man.

Zacharie held his arms open for you, but you didn't go to hug him just yet. Instead your hands went straight to his backpack. 

"I missed you too player, we were worried sick," the young man chuckles sarcastically.

"Oh? Sorry about that my dude but I need some luck tickets asap," you tell the young man.

"Luck tickets? Are you hurt?" the Batter inspects you carefully. 

"No no, I'm fine. They're not for me they're for-"

"Sugar?" Zacharie asks, raising the lantern in his hand to get a better look at the woman on the ground.

"Hi Zacharie, it's been a while hasn't it~?" Sugar giggles, but it's strained.

"It sure has," Zach chuckles. But you can hear the brief crack in his voice, holding back a sob. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I was helping this little friend of yours, but alas a few creepy crawlies got in the way tee hee~"

"Do you remember anything from before?" Zach asks but you place your hand on his shoulder, shaking your head as if answering for him.

Batter walked up to Sugar, handing her a fistful of luck tickets.

"Here. You kept our puppeteer safe, we're thankful for that, " he says in an honest voice.

But Sugars smile falters for a split second, before raising into a more forceful one. She grips tightly onto Batter's wrist, a bit too tight. 

"Ducky..."


	18. Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Better apologize before Joker items get involved.

You held your breath the moment you heard that nickname, Zach could only watch in silence how the Batter immediately froze. Sugar lunges at Batter with a battle cry, tackling him to ground while Batter tries to keep her at bay with his baseball bat between them.

"Batter don't you dare lay a hand on Sugar, she's hurt! and I would hate to see her die again." you scold the man with a stern, almost motherly tone.

"Can't you see she's trying to kill me?!" the athlete responds.

You're unsure about getting between the two, knowingffull well how strong they are. Without speaking, you turn to Zacharie with pleading eyes. 

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Zach reassured you. Even raising the sleeves on his shirt to make himself look tough.

He confidently made his way towards Batter and Sugar. 

"Alright, cut it out you two before someone gets hur-"

A loose foot accidentally kicks Zacharie in the face, sending him tumbling back with a faint stream of blood running on his shirt.

_It's not looking pretty._

While you rush to Zacharie's aid, Sugar and Batter keep wrangling each other like a pair of wild cats, with one trying to overpower the other. Sugar claws at him with her hand puppets constantly scratching his face. Batter on the other hand, allowed Sugar to take her frustrations on him, if this were any other situation he would retaliate without hesitation. But his puppeteer gave him an order, and he'll follow it no matter how fast he's feeling his health drop

Feeling just as exhausted as Sugar is.

However, Sugar still has the strength within her to wrap her hands around Batter's throat, choking him whole smacking his head against the floor. Causing black spots to appear within his eyesight. 

Zach seems to be fine. Better than what the Batter is going through. You could feel your eyes sting at the sight of him gasping like an elsen. If you're gonna intervene, then this the time for it. 

"That's enough, both of you stop it now!" you try to shout in desperation. 

"Stay out of this clumsy," Sugar said in a firm voice. Almost sounding like a different person. "If I don't get rid of him now, then he might take me away from you and Zacharie again."

Your shoulder slump, your mouth going dry as you try to reason with her. 

"Sugar I know he's was a bad man before but..." you pause, unable to justify everything you two did.

_Maybe you don't?_

_You helped the Batter purify the world, there's no justification for that._

"In that case kill me too! I'm his puppeteer," you confess. "I controled everything he did, so that makes me responsible for your death. If there's anyone to blame then that should be me,"

Sugar eyed you in disbelief loosening her grip on Batter as she let him fall. 

"Clumsy...No, the puppeteer. You're the one who took me away from Zacharie...?" she asks, with a voice lacking any trace of emotion. 

You swallow the lump your throat, nodding solemnly.

Sugar removes herself from the Batter body. Her attention focused directly on you, taking slow and steady steps towards you.

"(Y/N), stay away from her-!" The Batter called out to you, trying to stand up but unable to move due to the paralyzed effect. "If you cause any harm to them I won't hold back, ya hear me dancer!" Batter threats, but Sugar doesn't hear him. 

Zacharie took it upon himself to stand between you and Sugar, trying to calm her down. 

"Easy now Sugar, let's not get too impulsive," the mask man tries to sound relaxed, but he's on edge just like you and the Batter. 

Sugar didn't take another step forward with Zach's interfierence, looking at you from above his head. 

"It was you wasn't it? The puppeteer Zach told me of?" She asks. "The reason Zacharie kept me hidden in zone 0"

You nod shamefully. "Yes, that was me."

"You killed me, and yet you apologized for something I couldn't even remember..." Sugar says, mostly to herself. 

"I'm deeply sorry for what I... We did to you," you spare Batter a side glance before returning to Sugar. "Batter may not show it, but I do regret what I did to you, to Zacharie and to everyone involved."

"I'm glad to hear that, but that's not what I care about," A faint smile decorates Sugar's dimple face. "I'm not gonna harm you if that's what you're thinking (y/n)," 

It's like everyone visibly relaxed at the sound of that. 

"Please let me make it up to you, we can heal you and even pay a pedalo ride for you. Isn't that right Zach?" you include the ex merchant, hoping to convince her. 

"Of course!" Zach places his hand on Sugar's shoulder. "You love swans don't you pajarita?"

"I do~" she nods.

You hold out the tickets for her, but Sugar rejects them by gently pushing your hand away. "I accept your apology puppeteer, but I don't accept your gifts. There's some things I need to contemplate, for now I'm just glad Zacharie is safe," she walks past you and Zach, weakly grabbing her own lantern. 

A single pedalo passes by the four of you, with a lone elsen noticing the whole situation. "Oh golly, are you fellas okay? Did you get stuck?" he asks worryingly.

Despite her condition, Sugar limps her way to the elsen, easily toppling the boat and carelessly tossing him in the river. "Sorry, Sugar needs this boat-" she apologizes, "I'll be taking my leave," 

"But you're hurt!" you insist. 

However, the dancer ignores your statement, dropping inside the swan that's already floating away. "Don't be sad clumsy, we'll meet again in the next chapter of our story together~"

"Story? What are you talking about? Sugar? Sugar!" you shout, but the dancer is gone.

Something about her choice of words unnerved you, and yet you don't know why.

Zacharie chuckles behind you. "Ah, just as enigmatic as I remember... And somewhat loony,"

You heard a pained groan behind you, rushing straight to the young man sprawled on the floor. You crouch beside him, opening up your team stats to check the damage.

"Damn Batter, Sugar pulled a number on you," you whistle, impressed at how fast his health dropped. Normally you'd get upset at knowing your friends are close to death, but your add ons have jokers and health items, they'll be fine.

"I agree, you're looking all _battered_ up," Zacharie taunts.

Batter groans. "Player, do we happen to have any spare jokers? Cause I feel Zacharie might need one," his serious tone made you laugh more than it should have.


	19. Puzzles

You find it strange how there isn't a tutorial at the start of this world (or even the sight of the judge in that matter) to introduce you to how this game will function.

It just tossed you in completely blind.

But it makes sense, can't teach you about something that hasn't shown up yet. 

"Zacharie, how much do you know about the outside world? " you make small talk. 

"Hmm, not much. All I know is the concept of a video game and that we're in one,"

"Alright, so you know this one is a rpg with puzzles?"

Zacharie nods, only pausing mid-way to think and raising his hand in a so-so gesture.

"Basically it's the turn based fighting we've done, add some storyline and you're set. But let me tell you a bit more of your game," you start. "It's made with this tool called rpg maker, which the name alone says it all. It's easy to use but it has limited game play and visuals, however most games make up for it by creating clever puzzles," you continue to explain, even with Batter one-shoting a wall of sludge spiders so you three can pass. 

"I see, though we haven't stumbled into any puzzles besides the one with your laptop and the maze... If that's considered a puzzle," Zach notices. "Does that mean this game wasn't made in the rpg tool?"

You give a quick glance at the detail on Zacharie. "I'm not sure. You guys alone look high def, but I don't know if it's due to the game engine or because I'm here too,"

Batter gave the last sludge spider a splat, clearing the walkway for the team.

"Let's keep moving," he says sternly. 

You remove yourself from the wall you and Zach were leaning on, walking over the leftover sludge.

"Puppeteer, are you bored?" Batter asks all of a sudden.

You look up at the Batter.

"What makes you think that? It's not everyday you get isekai'd into a video game, I'm having the time of my life," you reassure the athlete.

"But this world- game, isn't of your liking. You said it yourself, it's game play and game design is lackluster," Zacharie finishes Batter's sentence, almost as if the two of them where thinking the same thing.

"True, but I'm happy enough being here with you guys~"

A noise got caught in Zacharie's throat while Batter lowered his cap over his face.

"I have an idea," Batter states sternly. Without warning, he scooped you on his shoulders and giving you a height boost.

"Batter what are ya- whoa, you're taller than you look-!" you held to his head, trying to keep yourself balanced.

"Let's look for those secret pages or a secret passageway," he announced, scampering off towards the walkway.

Zacharie catches up, glad to see some of your personality rubbed off on the 'ever so stoic' Batter. It's confusing at first, but with the way you're bobbing on Batter's shoulders was starting to feel kinda fun. You start giggling in delight when the man picks up speed, jumping over a few crates and barrels, it's like riding the back seat of the bus when it goes over a speed bump.

"See anything player?" Zach asks, barely catching up to the baseball player.

"Nope, not yet-" you giggle, eventually catching sight of a wall up ahead. "Wait I do see something!"

Batter slowed down his pace, lowering you to the ground as you study the wall. It's an elevator but it doesn't have a number pad, there's a switch but it doesn't do anything when you flip it. As in, you can hear mechanics shifting but nothing visible seems to happen.

There's no way around the wall, and backtracking only leads back to the pedalo ride you just got off from. You did the only thing you can do in these situations, you continue to explore. 

"Alright, I think I have an idea on how this works," you sit down and draw an imaginary map with your finger. "Remember those archways we saw before stumbling into the sludge spiders? Well there are fourth distinct ones that look like switches, two need to be activated at the same time while one needs a specific attack to turn on."

"In short, that means...?" Zach asks. 

You crack a smile. "It's a puzzle, and I'll need one of you to help me solve it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is a pick your character chapter. And yes, Sugar is now an unlocked love interest :-)


	20. What We Have [Batter]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puzzle solving option for the Batter! ⚾👻

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the patience, ahead there's not one- but three romance optional chapters to pick from! And just in time for Valentines Day~

One of these puzzles unlocks the elevator. But which one?

You raise a hand to your chin. Contemplating your options, it isn't until your eyes land on the Batter that made up your mind. "Zacharie, you stay here in case something changes. Batter, let's swing~" you sing, waiting for the athlete to join you before leaving.

The Batter stood straight, following behind you like a chivalrous knight. While the two of you walk down the alley, you raise your view to Batter's stern expression. You couldn't help but playfully bump your shoulder against him in a silent way to catch his attention. "So... you still have a thing against Zacharie?"

Batter keeps his mouth in a straight line, humming to himself. "He's still alive isn't he?"

You chuckle. "Yeah, he sure is,"

"That should be enough."

You lower your view to the ground, your mind trailing back to his neutral and even helpful attitude in the first game. "Wait a minute, you weren't like that with Zacharie back then," you point out. "What changed?"

The Batter kept his mouth shut in a straight line, trying to avoid eye contact with you. Batter picks up the speed in his walk while you jog behind him, it's clear he wants nothing more than to reach the puzzle and avoid the topic.

The alleyways are narrow and plastered in a soft blue, matching with the bath house's squeaky clean design. At the turn of the next corner is the puzzle meant for the Batter. A row of floating rings meant to look like targets slowly float up and down just in front of a wall, it reminds you of those shooting gallery games at a carnival.

You step aside, allowing the man some space."Go ahead, you know what to do,"

The Batter silently nods in response. He pulled out a baseball from his inventory pocket, tossing it in the air a few times before catching it. He tosses it in the air and takes a swing, but he misses the target by just an inch. The Batter growls in annoyance, attempting to try it again.

You've known this man for a while, his skill is nothing to scoff at but after missing the target for the 3rd time you know something is bothering him.

It's not like you can talk it out like your previous attempts, so you pick on something more approachable and just... you.

You crouch down beside him, clapping your closed fist against your open palm like a catcher. "Let's play ball!" you chant. "Heeeey Bata bata, swiiiing~"

Batter cracks a smile at the gesture. He grabbed another baseball from his pocket, focusing on the puzzle at hand. He tosses it in the air and gives it a good hit, sending the ball flying into one of the targets before it disappeared in a blast. But the explosion triggered the rest of the targets to move slightly more frantic than before, haphazardly floating in horizontal directions. The Batter doesn't let it phase him, managing to hit another target which changed the movements of the rest again. They're almost blurring out of sight due to the speed, now rushing vertically this time which makes range all the more complicated.

The Batter keeps his attention glued to a specific one, following it with his eyes even when you couldn't. He tried batting a ball in their direction but it didn't work as the previous time. He bit his lip in frustration, trying again only to fail.

He quickly turns around only to hand you the baseball bat with a grunt. You were about to ask why but your question was silently answered when Batter used his dominant hand to pitch the ball straight into the moving target.

You know he's strong, but you can't fathom how strong he truly is.

The pitch sent gusts of wind ruffling your clothes and bits of hair, it even blew back his baseball cap off his head. The final target erupted in a small firework display, even hearing gears shift from under your feet.

"I knew you could do it!" you express with a joyous laugh. Unconsciously wrapping your arms around his torso from behind.

The athlete stood still, tensing up before relaxing in your hold.

You're worried you overstepped his boundaries and made him uncomfortable, but Batter raised his hand to hold your own, gently caressing the back of your hand.

"Anything bothering you?" you ask softly.

"It's nothin," he shakes his head.

You tighten your hold on the Batter's sides, not enough to cut his oxygen supply but just enough to comfort him. "Come on, I know you better than anyone. What's on your mind?"

The athlete sighs, opening up due to your physical attention. "Back then it was just you and me. But now you and Zacharie have full conversations about gaming things I don't understand, and it makes me feel..." he pauses.

"Jealous?" you try to finish for him.

"Left out,"

Ahh, so that's what it is.

"Well, it's hard to add you into the conversation when you're so focused on the mission. But there's no reason to feel that way. Sure Zach and I get along, but it's not the same as what we have."

"Even with everything I did...?"

"What we did," you correct him.

Batter envelop you in his arms, causing you to drop the bat out of surprise.

Even if I'm a monster? He wanted to ask but lacked the courage to do so.

You apologize, removing your arms from him only to wrapping from in front of him than behind. "Well, if it makes you feel any better you have all my attention." 

Batter tried to hide the blush on his face by automatically grabbing his cap, but to his surprise, he forgot it blew away. Leaving his expression open for you to enjoy.

"I don't know what to do," he admits.

Your lips curl upwards in a smile, releasing him from your hold. "I know, how about you teach me how to swing?" you grab his baseball bat and his forgotten cap on the floor, imitating how Batter looks like.

"Purification in process," you even try to imitate his voice in a deeper tone.

This gained a small laugh from the Batter, patting the top of your head rather fondly. "You're right, I'm more thankful for what we have."


	21. What We Have [Zacharie]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puzzle solving option for Zacharie! 💰🛵

One of these puzzles unlocks the elevator. But which one?

You raise a hand to your chin. Contemplating your options, you didn't make up your mind until your eyes land on Zacharie.

"Zach, I hope you're as sharp as that blade-" you sing, pointing a thumb in direction of the alley. "Batter I'm gonna need you to guard the elevator until we solve the puzzle."

The athlete stood straight, keeping watch while Zacharie confidently stood beside you.

While the two of you walk down the alley, you take a peek at Zacharie, humming an unknown tune whilst keeping his eyes shut. You unconsciously stare at him too long, humoring him as he opens his eyes to meet your own.

"See something you like?"

"Heh-" you shake your head with a silly smile. Breaking eye contact after getting caught staring. "I was just wondering... About Sugar..."

Zacharie placed his hand on your shoulder, stopping your walk.

"Player, I don't blame you if that's what you're thinking," his tone is calm and understanding, yet you couldn't stop feeling your stomach sink.

That's not what you're thinking of.

"I was wondering... since you two seem to know each other from before..." You rub a hand over your nose, too embarrassed to ask. "Uh, nevermind."

Zach raised his free hand on your other shoulder, gently rubbing your forearms as a way to calm you down. "Let's continue with this puzzle before Batter goes on a killing spree again okay?"

"Okay," you agree.

The trip to the puzzle itself felt farther than you expected, maybe because of the sudden topic about Sugar and other things that have been swimming in your head. There's not much to look around, just plain walls and a clean floor with the occasional piece of garbage in the way, it's no wonder you returned your view to Zacharie once more. His mask, his hair, and that hilarious bulky backpack.

"Hey, Zacharie-" You start, but the young man only hums, listening to whatever you have to say. "Do you miss being a merchant?"

Zacharie contemplates his answer even though it's a fairly simple question, well, to you at least.

"Sometimes. "

You notice a shadow casting over his eyes, you wanted to touch his shoulder as reassurance but you two are interrupted by a clicking sound reached your ears, pulling your attention to the storage building by the next turn. The area is empty except for a slot machine and small closed doors on the side of the room, the main focus being the puzzle that had Zacharie's name written all over it. It has a spinning cylinder and a lever to the side, reminding you of those slot machines at casinos or arcade games, but more minimalistic.

You step aside to allow the man some space."Go ahead, I feel this is your kind of thing. "

Zacharie eagerly nods in response, he released his backpack straps and placed them on the ground. You offer to keep an eye on it as Zacharie gives the machine a closer look. Meanwhile, you just play around with a loose string on your shirt until you hear the clink of the lever. The built-in cylinders stopped one by one, you squint your eyes as you try to make out the symbols on the machine. Once the third, and final cylinder stopped it landed on a mismatched pattern composed of a swan, a coin, and a ghost. An impaired pattern.

Automatically, you heard a buzzer ring through the machine, almost like a consequence of getting a mismatched pattern. Not only did the machine stop buzzing, but you heard something else open, at first you think it's the elevator door but the smaller compartment doors opening up told you otherwise.

You feel your skin crawl the moment a dozen or so sludge spiders craw through the small door. You shout in surprise, acting by instinct and tossing Zacharie his sword while you grab the backpack to use as a shield.

"It's no use they just keep coming-!" you kick one of the spiders away. "Where did they come to begin with!?"

Zacharie slashed four of them with his blade, leaving behind a puddle of sludge that became overrun by another group of sludge spiders. He turned his eyes to the machine, an idea clicking in. "The slot machine, we need to gain a matched number!" The young man stomps over a few to reach the lever, pulling it down just in time to avoid getting overwhelmed by the critters. But he stopped by, instead of clearing his way towards you.

"What are you doing?"

"I can leave you unprotected-" he insists.

"Forget about that. Focus on the slot machine, it's our main priority," you interject with a grunt, feeling the critters scratch at your legs. Your attempt to push them off results in losing your balance, getting knocked off your feet and to the ground. The backpack is the only thing keeping a sludge spider from gnawing its teeth at you, you feel your arms giving in slowly but surely- you'd be a goner by now- if it wasn't for a pair of dark eyes as sharp as the blade stabbed through the spider.

"You're my main priority."

Zacharie twisted his body to the left, raising the embedded

spider over his head and tossing its carcass directly to the lever, successfully firing up the slot machine once again.

A strangled gasp escapes your mouth, your eyes filled with disbelief at the perfectly matching pattern on the slot machine. A row of coins. The sludge spiders stayed right in their spot, trembling slightly as they rush back to their compartments almost like under command. But you didn't pay mind to that, you were too busy flipping out at Zacharie's cool move, and he's more than happy to accept your attention.

"That was amazing!" you express with a joyous laugh. Unconsciously wrapping your arms around his torso from behind.

The masked man stood still, tensing up before relaxing in your hold.

You're worried you overstepped his boundaries and made him uncomfortable, but Batter raised his hand to hold your own, gently caressing the back of your hand.

"How did you know it would land on a perfect match?"

"I didn't," he admits blatantly, eyes closed in a sheepish smile while ruffling his hair. "It was a risky gamble."

Your mouth drops in shock, a part of you didn't want to believe it but another part of you knew it was something he'd do. "Are you nuts! But what if it was another mismatch pattern? We would've gotten overrun by spiders." you voice your concerns by raising your tone a little too high.

"I would've used my body to shield you until we were out of reach," Zach confesses without hesitation, without a chuckle neither. While you freaked out, the masked man approached the hypothetical situation more calmly, retrieving his sword and shaking it clean before sheathing it.

You felt your body slump at the confession, your anger dying down as you realize the implications of his statement. "But what if they poison you?"

Zacharie turns to look at you, his mask covering shadows over his eyes. You didn't get a good look at them until he was up close to you, forehead pressed against your own.

"Even if they kill me."

At the mention of danger, you inevitably wrap your arms around his upper body, tightening your hold on him, not enough to cut his oxygen supply but just enough to physically manifest your appreciation for the man. "Don't say that..." you murmur. Zacharie didn't seem to mind the gesture, wrapping his tattooed arms around your shoulders.

"Player..." Zacharie whispers. You mentally pray he doesn't ask you to stop. "You asked me if I missed being a merchant, to be honest, I don't miss it in the slightest... What I have here as your add on, is ten times better."


	22. What We Have [Sugar]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puzzle solving option for Sugar! 🦢🍬

"Ow ow ow,"

Zacharie complains while you examine the bruises on his arms, almost as dark as his tattoos. If you were able to see his face you know he's most likely bruised there too since his mask is littered with dents. You hope those can be fixed with the miraculous healing block.

The puzzle you pick seemed easy at first. It's a plain storage building with a checkered platform floor, there are heavy cannons inside the building walls that fire every time you make a wrong step unless you guess the right pattern. The reason your team has been struggling is that each hit takes away 1/4 of your maximum health.

You were left out from trying this dangerous puzzle. But there are only a certain amount of tries your add ons can take before they're left bruised and beaten.

It's too painful for you to see them keep going on like this. 

Batter isn't looking so good either, but he's trying to play the tough guy in front of you, you bet he'd keep the pain to himself even if he had a couple of broken ribs. Meanwhile, Zacharie is the complete opposite, letting you know how hurt he is so you would attend to him.

You raise a hand to your chin. Contemplating your options, you didn't make up your mind until a pleasant memory regarding a certain pedalo came up. "I think I know who can help. But while I'm gone, you two are gonna rest up and watch the elevator door."

"Fine." Zacharie grunts.

"Normally I wouldn't allow you to leave of your own-" Batter tries to give you a stern fatherly speech, but you gave him a small poke to the ribs before he could continue. "Hng- but I'll make an exception this once." he winced at the pain.

______

It wasn't too hard to find Sugar again, thankfully. After that mess at the tunnels you were terrified at the thought of finding her passed out over the edge of the river, but she looked as fresh as lettuce when you saw her chilling near the stationed pedalos.

"Clumsy, so happy to see your tee hee~" the woman giggles happily, laying comfortably on the swan-shaped boat.

"Likewise, how are you feeling since... Ya know."

The young woman waves a hand in the air, "I'm splendid, just needed a nap. Well, that and a few consumables from that thingy~" she points to her far right. You follow her finger to notice a broken down vending machine, left completely wrecked, unfunctional and empty. It's not too hard to connect one and one.

"Heh I can tell. You look rather refreshed," you nod." Anyway, I came here cause I wanted to ask your help with something."

This sparked Sugar's interest, crawling off her pedalo in record time before you even said a word. "Tell me Pajarito, what am I good for~?" she giggles once more, almost sensually even.

During your walk through the alleyways, you try to explain the current puzzle to Sugar the best way you can while she walks at a steady pace, almost looking like ballet prance, covering a good amount of terrain due to her height. Now that you have a good look at her, Sugar is most likely taller than Batter.

"What a woman~" you found yourself sighing pleasantly.

"What was that?" Sugar turns to look at you.

You blush slightly, waving a hand in their air. "Oh, uh nothing. Just wondering how the guys are doing." you half-lie since you do worry about them, but Sugar didn't seem to tell the difference.

"Ooh, that's right. I should've noticed your cavalry isn't here tee hee~" The young woman walks a tad closer to you, unconsciously leaning you against the wall. "Someone like you shouldn't be left alone, silly." Sugar gives you another smile, but this one feels more mischievous in a way.

Is it you or did her voice lower an octave?

"Why? Is it because of the weird monsters or those glitches out elsen?" you ask her, feeling yourself getting passively pushed towards the wall.

"Not exactly," She hums. Almost immediately after Sugar starts humming, her hand slams against the wall beside you, placing her arm in front of you and forcing you to look at her. "Who knows what other weirdos are out there preying over pretty birdies... like you~"

Is she threatening me or flirting with me?

You could feel your mouth go dry, barely swallowing as you feel your face grow flush and warm. "It's a good thing I have you here with me," you reply smoothly, tucking a strand of her hair bangs behind her ear, eventually patting her shoulder.

Sugar's smile didn't move an inch, but you do hear what sounds like rumbling coming from her chest.

"True, almost like someone wanted us here~" she removes her hand from the wall like nothing happened, giving you some space as she prances in the direction you two are heading for.

"Wha-? uh, Let's keep going I guess? " you cough in your fist, trying to avoid the way your ear is ringing.

By the time you catch up to Sugar she's already inside the storage building and it's checkered like platform. The young woman eyes the platform curiously before taking a step on it, you're freaked out, afraid of seeing her get hurt.

"Be careful of the-!" you didn't get a chance to finish your warning when a cannonball shot directly at Sugar. She bent over slightly after the shot, trembling a little, but even then she didn't stop giggle.

"Tee hee, so this is what's troubling you canario," the young woman stands straight despite the attack. "It'll just make this task all the more fun~"

You're left awestruck, there was a slight suspicion that Sugar can tank hits but you never imagined how much until now. Despite the battlefield around her Sugar started dancing ballet, dodging or tanking any hit sent her way with every incorrect step. If Batter was here, he would never admit that Sugar managed to cover half of the platform in less time than both he and Zach did. You're left at the edge of your toes, unable to peel your eyes off of Sugar. Both worried and amazed at her dance.

Before you knew it a small ding! the sound pulled you from the spectacle, reverting to your current reality. It almost felt like a dream. The checkered floor cleared out, turning into one solid color as the cannons retrieve back inside the walls. 

"Sugar you did it! You solved the puzzle!" you clap proudly at her. 

"Easy peasy~" Sugar giggles. She looks fine, but the marks on her abdomen tell you otherwise, rushing to her side. 

"Oh gosh Sugar are you hurt? Let me patch you up!" you rummage through your inventory for any spare luck tickets.

Sugar tilts her head to the side, amused with your worry for her. "Did you like it~?"

You lift your head. "Did I like what?"

"My dance, I wanted to perform a choreograph for you"

"Wait, really?" you ask flabbergasted. "I don't know what to say..."

Sugar nods happily, taking sitting on the floor with her legs crossed together. She's somewhat tired, panting lightly as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. You're more than flustered, your whole body feels warm, cozy, and mushy on the inside. But your attention switched from yourself to Sugar, she's bruised like Batter and Zach, and although she's holding up stronger than both of them she still looks in pain. 

"I love it! It's the first time someone has ever giving me a gift like that, though I would've preferred you wouldn't get hurt after performing." You dig out a luck ticket from your inventory, ripping it near Sugar, letting the sparks heal her.

"I don't mind getting hurt for you pajarito," she leans forward, resting her forehead on yours. "In fact I also wouldn't mind performing for you a little more."

Before you could ask what she's referring to, you hear another ding, a noise designated to when a text box pops up. 

**Sugar has joined your party.**


	23. Elevator Music

Elevator music already tends to trim the fine line of being both nonchalant and/or boring, but here it's just abusing its powers. It's almost like you're gonna fall asleep. Maybe it's due to the waiting? With all the hype building after solving the puzzle and hearing the elevator doors open up, it's no wonder all this waiting is leaving you restless.

The four of you are just standing there quietly, Zacharie taps his foot to the beat, Batter gives Sugar the occasional glance of suspicion while Sugar hums to the music despite the looks she's receiving from the Batter. "What do you think we'll find on the top floor~?" She wonders, standing to your left while Batter supports you from the right.

The masked man lowered his backpack so he could lean on the wall behind you. "A faster transport I hope," Zacharie adds with a snicker.

The Batter turns to you, wishing you'd join the conversation. "What do you think puppeteer?"

"Hmm," your face shifts into a thoughtful look.

"This is usually the part of the game where we'll find the boss of this level, you know- whoever is responsible for brainwashing the elsen and whatnot." you scratch your chin.

"Ooo a final boss, how exciting~!" Sugar claps her hands together.

"I don't expect we'll meet the mastermind this soon, even back then there were four zones and four guardians before the final fight." Zach remains skeptical.

"Whoever it is, we'll fight them and return puppeteer's home to normal." Batter crosses his arms over his chest. 

This statement made Zacharie choke on a gasp, it was too faint for anyone else to hear except for Sugar, out of everyone in the group she's the more perceptive. "Something wrong Zacharie?" Sugar pokes the smaller man with one of her finger puppets, Zach kept his lips shut tight, but the curiosity was gnawing on his insides. 

"What do you think will happen... when we reach that point?" his voice is low, almost too uncertain of the question himself.

Batter kept his eyes on the ground while you fidget in your spot, Sugar starts giggling but it sounds like it's more out of nervousness. The elevator music took over the confined space once more, no one has thought about that, let alone dared to answer. But it's at that moment where the elevator finally stops, with the metal doors opening up to show the lone white corridor awaiting for them.

"Ladies first." was the only thing you could say to break the awkwardness, extending your arm towards the door.

"Don't mind if I do~"


End file.
